Joshua Smith - NMLS #274855

Joshua Smith - NMLS #274855 Broker Owner
NMLS 274855
Apex Funding
NMLS 2486773
2591 Dallas Pkwy
Suite 300
Frisco, TX 75034

Personal NMLS 274855, Company NMLS 2486773, OK MLO07391, FL LO129520, CO 100537860

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. The biggest news of the last week was the first Fed meeting of the ne...
06/22/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

The biggest news of the last week was the first Fed meeting of the new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh. Warsh has been very vocal about doing things differently. For one, he did not participate in the "dot plot", which is each governor's opinion of where rates will be for the rest of the year and in the long run. He does not believe the Fed should issue forward guidance. Out of the other 18, 9 projected a rate increase this year.

However, and this is just my opinion, I don't think a rate increase is likely. The main concern right now is inflation. However, if you look into the inflation numbers, the main culprit is oil/gas. I believe that if we can fully get past the Iran conflict, the oil and gas prices will subside, and a rate increase will not be needed.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Lots of positivity today. Fannie Mae is very bullish on the 2nd half ...
06/15/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

Lots of positivity today. Fannie Mae is very bullish on the 2nd half of 2026. There is a tentative agreement in place to open the Straight without tolls that is to be signed on Friday. Oil is down to $80/barrel. Barry Habib (foremost economist for mortgage rates) has lowered the rate range that he tracks.

As long as the positive momentum continues with regard to the conflict in Iran, I would expect interest rates to follow suit.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates ticked up a little last week due to higher than expected jobs r...
06/08/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

Rates ticked up a little last week due to higher than expected jobs reports. There is growing sentiment in the market that there could be a rate hike later this year; however, I expect the Fed Funds Rate to remain unchanged.

One small bright side to what we are going through right now is the spread between the 10-Year Treasury and MBS prices (mortgage rates). The spread is currently much smaller than we have seen in the past few years. This means that if the spread were the same as 2023, for example, rates would be in the mid 7's instead of the mid 6's.

As always, let me know how I can help you!

Good morning! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates continue to tread water. Keep in mind, in this market, there are ...
06/02/2026

Good morning! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates continue to tread water.

Keep in mind, in this market, there are quite a few things we can do to help the client. We all know about the 2/1 buydown, but we also have a 1/0, 1/1, and a 3/2/1. We have ARM's that sometimes have lower rates. We have 100% FHA options. We have physicians' loans. We help the client shop for their insurance. We apply their homestead exemption to their initial payment, even though they have not even had a chance to apply yet.

We also do a 30-minute Zoom call at prequalification. This allows us to find the pressure points and which of these options will be best for them. In a market where affordability is the biggest challenge, we have options.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates are mostly unchanged as we wait for the resolution to world eve...
05/26/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates are mostly unchanged as we wait for the resolution to world events.

However, keep in mind that what I show below are average rates after discount points are paid. Our rates are not "average".

I locked a 30-year fixed Jumbo last week at 5.75%, and that was with $0 lender fees.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Good news/bad news sort of thing. Bad news is rates are not doing so ...
05/18/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

Good news/bad news sort of thing. Bad news is rates are not doing so hot. The good news is that it is almost entirely due to inflation, which in turn is almost entirely due to gas prices. As we know, if we can get out of this conflict in Iran, gas prices should immediately go down.

Also, keep in mind the buydown products. They are a huge help in this market. We are currently offering a free 1-0 buydown for *most buyers that lock before June 30th. We can get seller concessions on most homes right now, and the biggest bang for the buck for the consumer is a buydown. Also, let's say you do a buydown for the first two years, you get a refund if you refinance before the buydown period is over.

As always, let me know how I can help you!

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.The Big PictureThe main driver for mortgage rates this week was the la...
05/11/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

The Big Picture
The main driver for mortgage rates this week was the latest employment report. Because the job market remains stronger than expected, investors are betting that the Federal Reserve won't be rushing to cut rates anytime soon. This "strong economy" news actually pushes mortgage rates a bit higher because it signals that the fight against inflation isn't over yet.

Key Factors at Play
Inflation Trends: Recent data shows prices are still "sticky," meaning they aren't falling as fast as everyone hoped. This keeps the cost of borrowing elevated.

What to Watch: We are looking for a consistent cooldown in price hikes before we see a significant move downward in rates.

The Bottom Line: We are in a "wait and see" period. Rates are reacting daily to new data, so keeping your buyers pre-approved and ready to move is more important than ever.

As always, let me know how I can help you!

05/08/2026

Today, 20 years ago, I started at Countrywide. I tell people that I basically started in the mortgage industry at the worst place and time. However, I've always felt that if I can make it through that, I can make it through anything.

No one asked, but if I had one piece of advice, it would be to try to constantly improve. The only way to do that is to be highly critical of yourself, while not losing sight of what you do best.

Here's to 20 more!

Just kidding. There's no way I can do that...

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates have held steady over the last week. We are in a holding patter...
04/27/2026

Good afternoon! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

Rates have held steady over the last week. We are in a holding pattern waiting for a permanent resolution to the conflict in Iran, comments from the Fed this week, and movement on inflation.

The Fed meets this week, but they will hold rates steady. The bigger question will be what they say about expectations moving forward.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Good morning! Here is your Weekly Market Update. Rates are trending in the right direction. All eyes are on the conflict...
04/21/2026

Good morning! Here is your Weekly Market Update.

Rates are trending in the right direction. All eyes are on the conflict in Iran, but there seems to be some optimism for a resolution soon. Until we can get out of this, we will be subject to the volatility associated with the conflict.

If we can get a peaceful resolution, the underlying data shows that rates could go back down shortly after.

As always, please let me know how I can help you!

Address

2591 Dallas Pkwy Suite 300
Frisco, TX
75034

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Joshua Smith - NMLS #274855 posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category