It's no secret that millennials have become the largest and most influential market for home buyers and sellers. The real unanswered question for many is what this means for business, relationships, and what drives both: building your agent brand. Millennials demonstrate new technology behaviors that impact the home search and buying process. So agents must not only cater to the millennial market, but also be prepared to leverage new technology and social tools to build their brand and engage with millennial customers online. The challenge is understanding how to use these tools effectively. Millennials' affinity for technology cannot be ignored…
Author: Private Lending Agent
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content. I used to live the life of a millionaire I didn't mind spending money. Bring your friends and have a good time Buy moonshine, champagne, and wine Lord, I was arrested and I've fallen so low I had no money and nowhere to go This is true, Lord, there is no doubt about it Nobody needs you when you're down Lord, if I could have a dollar again I'll hold it till the eagle laughs I want to try just one tiny house. No one…
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content. As the Federal Reserve's (Fed) tight interest rate policy regime continues to put upward pressure on mortgage rates and recessionary trends (and other notable economic headwinds) to the macroeconomy steadily worsen, it is becoming fairly clear that the U.S. housing market is headed for a severe downturn.The most important questions for the housing market right now are when will home prices peak this quarter and what will be the pace and magnitude of the decline?I have developed a model to answer these questions using historical…
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content.It's time to face the facts: a recession is here. Not “officially,” of course — the NBER would need to provide a ton of highly revised and finalized macroeconomic data before it could publicly declare that fact — but “technically,” and in a widely felt way, a recession is here.The first quarter of 2022 marked the first time this cycle (i.e. the cycle that began after the mini-recession caused by the COVID pandemic) that real GDP was negative, and only the third (but most significant) negative…
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content. One of the big differences between the current housing boom and the epic home price surge and subsequent crash that ultimately led to the “Great Recession” is the quality of the buyers, or more precisely, the underwriting standards lenders use when making mortgage loans, and the soundness of the loan products and features lenders offer.Without a doubt, by 2005, 2006 and 2007 lending standards were completely out of touch with reality and the various tools used by the mortgage system to keep the party going…
Most home buyers begin the process feeling anxious, excited, and nervous. Some are even scared. And rightfully so. A home is the largest and most expensive purchase most people will make in their lifetime. It can either be a complete financial disaster or a smart long-term investment. You, the agent, are the difference between a big financial mistake and a valuable asset. And yet, an agent can only help as much as the buyer allows. While having an experienced agent by your side is important, there are some things that first-time home buyers have to do. Here is a list…
Roughly one in 10 homes sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022 was resold by investors in response to strong demand from buyers, but profits on those transactions fell to a 13-year low, according to a new report.According to a report released by real estate data analytics company Atom, 114,706 single-family homes and condominiums were resold in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 9.6% of all transactions in the period. This is up from 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 4.9% in the first quarter of 2021.To determine the number of homes that…
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content. Over the past few months, I have recommended that the Fed needs to raise the federal funds rate much faster than it has in the past, and argued that the Fed is not only “outdated” given its failed “temporary” position, but has completely missed the point in taking a “hawkish” stance. The approach I propose to rate hikes is for the Fed to move within a +100-+125 basis point range at each scheduled meeting (in 2022), with random “emergency” rate hikes during meetings, to set…
Did you like this post? Subscribe to my Substack now for additional insights and content. Something stinks in jumbo mortgage town.For most of my adult life, jumbo loan interest rates have been at least 0.25 percentage points (or more) higher than conforming loan interest rates, but this relationship has recently reversed.Remember, the main goal of the giant “government sponsored enterprises” (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae is to provide more affordable housing financing to the American people.GSE mortgage-backed securities (MBS) come with an implicit guarantee of the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government (which was actually…
The housing market doesn't seem to be cooling down anytime soon, with home prices reported to be up just over 20% in April compared to a year ago, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index released on Tuesday. The good news? That's less than the increase in March. So there you have it. Meanwhile, homes are being flipped at the highest rate since at least 2000. Given the booming housing market, if you were looking for a home that needed fixing up last year, you likely found yourself competing with flippers. “During periods of high demand for…