Last week, the president announced an action that will save homebuyers and homeowners with new FHA-insured mortgages $1500 per year (assuming a 500k home), lowering housing costs for an estimated 850,000 home buyers and homeowners in 2023. On the surface, the change...
Harder for Borrowers to Secure a Loan in February, Credit Availability Hits record low
As a private lender, my call volume and closings the first quarter have been off the charts as borrowers fall out of more conventional products. This trend is now playing out with the Mortgage Credit Availability Index showing substantial tightening of credit for all...
Blowout jobs report; mortgage rates to jump again; Is 8% on the horizon?
Wow, a few weeks ago rates had fallen from a peak of over 7% to almost 6%. Unfortunately the party was short lived as rates are now heading much higher. The recent jobs report was another blow out upping the odds of another half point increase at the next Fed...
2 banks implode, largest since 2008, is this a trend, impact on real estate
Over 48 hours two banks failed for very different reasons. There is a saying in banking that when rates rise and easy money runs out, we will find the skeletons that have been lurking in plain sight. Are we in for a 2008 rerun? What caused the sudden...
Soft landing, brace for a much better spring real estate market
In only a couple of months, the world has changed substantially. In December, inflation was supposedly decreasing rapidly and the odds of a soft landing were non existent. Fast forward a few months and inflation is running hot, consumers are spending like crazy,...
Big changes to Freddie seasoning requirements: how will this impact the housing market
Beginning in March of 2023, Freddie Mac, the largest buyer of mortgages is drastically changing the seasoning requirements for any loans it purchases which basically means any new conventional conforming loan will have to follow the new rules. What big changes are...
60k laid off, The middle is squeezed how will this impact Real estate and the recovery
Purchasing power from paychecks fell 2.9% for middle-income households in 2022 compared with 2021, while rising 1.5% for the bottom fifth of households and 1.1% for the top, according to the Congressional Budget Office study. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent of...
Mortgage demand plunges 13.2% to end 2022, are higher interest rates the only culprit
The market currently has a fixation on interest rates. Essentially whatever interest rates do the market reacts accordingly. For example if rates rise, sales fall and vice versa. Are rates really the driver of the slow down in real estate sales? If rates...
Global Property Market Faces $175 Billion Debt Spiral: This cycle is different
I rarely say that Covid caused radical changes in behavior but the commercial property sector is bucking this trend. This is not because of return to office or lack thereof, but leverage and the central bank. In every cycle in recent memory as the economy started to...
Proposal for National rent control, what does this mean for prices and supply, why are rents increasing
It is no secret that rent has skyrocketed throughout the country. Nationally rental growth peaked at 17.45% year over year in March of 2022. Some markets like NY and FL have exceeded over 31% rent growth annually. What are the three causes of huge jumps in rents?...
30 year mortgage rates plummet, will they return to pandemic lows
It has been a wild ride in the treasury market. Rates spiked to 7.5%, but recently have plummeted back to below 6%? Now they are rising again. What does this mean for real estate sales? Will the lower rates be enough to turn around the slowing market? Will rates...
Commercial property prices slide 13% from peak, biggest since 08, where do prices go from here?
US commercial real estate prices have plunged 13% from a peak this year, the biggest drop since the global financial crisis of 2008. What is causing the decline in commercial property prices. Is this a blip or will the slide in commercial property prices worsen in...
2023 real estate predictions: Mortgage rates come off their highs. Does a recession happen in 23?
I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. Before getting into my predictions for next year, there are three crucial factors to discuss that will shape the real estate market in 2023 and beyond: Interest rates, inflation, and consumer sentiment. All three are...
4 big changes to real estate in 2023. Where will the opportunities be?
There is definitely allot of doom and gloom heading into 23 with interest rates double their lows, inventory increasing, and prices coming off their highs. In every cycle there will be winners and losers. Where will the real estate opportunities be? Are their certain...
National Association of Realtors predicts rising prices in 2023; fed predicts drop
In 2023, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun expects home sales to decline by 7%, while the national median home price will increase by 1% in his recent 2023 market update. On the flip side the most recent federal reserve economic commentary classifies the current...
Year of the Bear, are you ready for 2023 and a 20% decline, what happens to interest rates, economy, etc…
Since Covid it seems like traditional patterns have been broken. I hear time and time again that X or Y is different and there have been fundamental changes. Is this true, is everything “radically” different now? Is a bear walking around in the snow a sign (zoom in...
Consumer debt soars to the highest on record, why is this good and bad news for real estate
The federal reserve bank of NY recently published a report showing consumer debt jumping to the highest levels ever recorded with every category growing from mortgages, autos, credit cards, lines of credit, etc… Is some consumer debt better/worse than others for the...
Will the golden handcuffs of low rates save real estate in this cycle?
The prevailing theory is that this real estate cycle will be considerably better than others as so many people locked in rock bottom rates which will serve as “golden handcuffs” and prevent a meaningful increase in inventory. How accurate is this theory? What is the...
Inflation continues hot, 100% chance of recession in 12 months, what can past cycles tell us about real estate now and in the future?
There is pretty much a universal theme that there will be a recession in the future. It is like saying that it might rain sometime in the next month. It doesn’t help you much without knowing approximately when it will rain and if it will be a light sprinkle or turn...
Ibuyers get crushed, Opendoor plunges
“Our model really works in upmarkets, it's going to work in flat markets, it's going to work in downmarkets,” chief financial officer Carrie Wheeler told analysts just 6 short months ago. Unfortunately today this statement could not be further from the truth. ...
30 year fixed crosses 7%, is this the real story? Prices fall first time in 10 years.
A few weeks ago, the big news was 6% rates and now everyone suddenly woke up with stocks crashing and yields soaring to new highs and rates jumping again. What does this mean in the short term for interest rates? Is focusing on the 30 year mortgage rate the correct...
Fannie-Mae-sees-dark-days-ahead-for-the-housing-market;
It will get much worse for the housing market and the mortgage industry. That’s the takeaway from a group of economists at Fannie Mae who slashed their forecast for 2022 home sales this week. Federal Reserve chairman Powell recently threw even more cold water on their...
Prices fall 6%, closings slip to lowest since 2015, what does this mean for 22-23?
Home values slipped for the second consecutive month as mortgage costs continue to sideline buyers. From June through August, prices usually decline about 2%, but this year they have fallen about 6%. At the same time, mortgage rates hit highs of around 6.4%. ...
Back to office, ready to pick your seat? 3 traits that will identify the winners & losers
First, the pic above was the leading picture for a listing I looked at. I guess they were stressing the work from home conveniences in the office Unfortunately this could lead to some “interesting” conversations with coworkers. With the back to office trend in full...



























