Ben Bernanke’s Mortgage “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” –Proverb “This side appears to be brown.” –Joke about what a CPA will answer, when asked what color a horse standing 50 feet away in a pasture is. When clients ask me where I think home prices are headed, my standard Realtor answer is,...Read More
Refinance Redux Scarcely six weeks ago, I noted that stock market turmoil was prompting a flight to safety, which in turn was driving down interest rates and serving up a golden refinancing opportunity. Guess what? After a year-end rally, global stocks are once again swooning — along with interest rates. Bottom line: if you’re sitting...Read More
Turning Keynes Inside Out “Markets can stay irrational longer than investors can stay solvent.” –John Maynard Keynes In light of The Federal Reserve’s unprecedented, going-on-six-year campaign of monetary stimulus, perhaps the question to ask isn’t, “why are stocks trading at record levels?” Rather, it’s “why aren’t stocks even higher?” My answer: because at least some...Read More
Affordability’s Three “Ingredients”: Housing Prices, Mortgage Rates, & Employment Don’t rising home prices make homes less affordable? In general, yes. The exception is when interest rates are falling faster than home prices are rising — the case right now — and wages and employment are improving (also true). From 4.6% to ???? So, from a...Read More
Where Are Interest Rates Headed in 2014? There’s no mileage in being contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. But, it’s uncanny — at least to me — how often conventional wisdom has a way being foiled. In that regard . . . there certainly seems to be a broad consensus at the moment...Read More
Reason(s) Not to Go With the Cheapest Loan/Lender By definition, all real estate is unique. Money isn’t. (In economists’ lingo, money — and other commodities like aluminum, corn, and lumber — are what’s called “fungible”). So, is there a reason for prospective home Buyers (and mortgage borrowers) not to simply get the cheapest loan they can...Read More
