Lower Interest Rates vs. Economic Uncertainty How will coronavirus affect the housing market? The answer likely depends on two questions: 1) which Buyers?; and 2) which segment(s) of the housing market — specifically, which price points? So, at the lower end of the market, especially in the Twin Cities, there remains an acute shortage of...Read More
Dow Drops 1,032 Points on Coronavirus Fears [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] No, I don’t see mortgages becoming free any time soon. Even if long-term interest rates...Read More
“Beware Wall Streeters Bearing Fees” [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Fans of Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders won’t be disappointed: the just-released 2019 Letter is one...Read More
“Rising Treasury Yields Quiet Investors’ Concerns” –WSJ Headline (11/14/19). Stock swooned last Summer, sort of, when the dive in interest rates — combined with uncertainty over trade wars, Brexit, and whatever else was in the air — convinced people that something nasty might be just over the horizon. Fast forward a couple months. Interest rates...Read More
One Sure Thing When it Comes to Investing (Really) “Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for Third Time in 2019” –Headline, The NYT (10/30/19). Let me see if I’ve got this straight: If the economy is strong, corporate earnings are growing, unemployment low, etc. . . . the market goes up because the fundamentals are good....Read More
WSJ: “Average Rate on a 30-year, Fixed-Rate Mortgage was 3.75% Last Week, Down from 4.94% in November” Sooner or later, industry mavens predicting higher mortgage rates will be right. But not this year. From a peak of almost 5% late last Fall, rates fell to 3.75% last week. Count that the 4th (7th? 9th?) year...Read More
