Good afternoon…
I’ve come to the conclusion that I can deal with any weather…as long
as it’s sunny. It was a great weekend; I attended a couple open houses
and it seems like there’s more activity these days. A good sign, indeed.
On today’s call: Markets, Pending Sales, Facebook, Turn-times & Interest Rates
- To start off the week, we’re seeing some modest gains in stocks, after
Ben Bernanke suggested the Fed may continue its monetary policy
easing, especially if the jobs market continues to show many signs of
weakness. Basically, investors feel more confident that the Fed won’t
bail out and leave investors out to dry. This allows investors to trust
the current rally, which is set to end as the best quarter since 1998.
QE3 is still on the table, but I’m not sure if they’ll do this again. Each
time it’s happened, though, rates have definitely improved.
- In housing, there were some disappointing figures, especially the Pending
Home Sales index, which dipped .5% in February. Although it should be noted
that in the Midwest, there was a gain of 6.5%. Analysts has predicted an overall
gain of 1-2%, but still, it’s around 9% higher than this time last year. Housing
prices are still falling, but I think that’s primarily due more to the volume of
distressed properties than other factors. I’m hopeful that the traditional “spring”
buyers season will help these figures.
- If you’ve got a Facebook page for your business (and you should, it’s a no-brainer),
remember that they are changing all the pages to the “timeline” view at the end of
the month. From what I’ve heard, this is not a simple change and many things will
be confusing. If you need any assistance with this, I’d be happy to help. And, of
course, if you haven’t already “liked” my page, you can click on the link below and
do so…I’d appreciate it!
- While HARP 2.0 and FHA streamline loans are refinance programs that are out of the
scope of this discussion, I just want you to be aware that there will be an enormous
amount of applications taken for people looking to lower their rate, etc. Please keep
in mind that lenders’ operations departments will be at full capacity levels. Purchase
files do take precedence, but just be careful when your clients are in a time crunch.
It might be better to alert them that closing in less than 30 days is cutting it close. I
just gave a commitment letter to a client who applied 3 weeks ago so I know we can
get things done. Just look at the circumstances of each deal and I can help if needed.
Interest rates are up to about 4% now, in general. ARM’s are in the 2.625%-3.5%
range. I’m hopeful we see rates dip back down a little due to the recent economic figures.
Thanks for reading and please feel free to contact me if you need anything. Have a great week.
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