Brett McClellan-Mortgage Loan Originator at UMB Bank

05/28/2025

Refinance potential in the near future?? Contact me for a free consultation to determine what interest you'd need for a refinance to make sense.

According to MBShighway.com, Fannie Mae has lowered their forecast for 2025's estimates from 6.2% to 6.1% and from 6% to 5.8% for the end of 2026. If these predictions are correct, we could see a refi boom. According to ICE, there are around 4M loans eligible to refi if we hit that range. To give some context, there were only 1.3M refinance loans done in all of 2024, so obviously this spike in activity would be very welcome.

09/12/2024

Nice day at the Kansas City MBA golf tournament. UMB represented today shooting -8 under par and grabbing 2nd place in the scramble!

08/27/2024

Just a little PSA…always clean your exterior AC units at least once a year or your system will work harder and not cool your home as well. Forgot to clean this spring and the house was feeling hotter than normal today…..

07/25/2024

Even with a larger home supply and slightly lower rates, new home sales continue to fall further. Despite best efforts from builders offering incentives and price cuts, new home inventory is now at 9.3 months.

June's new home sales dropped to a seven-month low despite price cuts and incentives, reflecting ongoing challenges in the housing market.

06/17/2024

Well, the Fed has pretty much taken the wind out of everyone's sails, signaling that there may only be 1 rate-cut this year. From a mortgage perspective, while we are seeing slight improvement to rates, mortgage bonds are in over-bought territory and now trading in a wide range. That means there is potential to see some movement in rates, up and down, over the next few days. Housing market is still tight and it's still a great time to purchase before rates come down further and more buyers enter the already crowded pool.

Central Bank chair sees recent inflation easing as progress, but more confidence needed

05/14/2024

I'm not surprised by this at all, given the fact that Fannie Mae significantly increased the rate adjusters on second homes. If you're considering a second home, now could be a good time to buy though!

Loan count drops annually at double the pace of primary homes

04/29/2024

Excited to see UMB growing into new states!

Alongside first quarter 2024 earnings, Mariner Kemper, chairman and chief executive officer of UMB Financial Corporation, shared historic company news. I am extremely pleased to share that, in addition to another strong quarter at UMB, we are also announcing the ex*****on of a definitive agreement f...

04/12/2024

Inflation numbers keep coming back hotter than expected. At the end of 2023 it was predicted we'd see 6-7 rate cuts, compared to the Fed's expectation of 3 rate cuts. For the time being, it doesn't appear that mortgage rates will decline anytime soon.

Strong, sticky price growth in CPI dampens hopes of Fed cutting rates in near term

03/19/2024

I'm curious to watch the results of this lawsuit play out in real life. It will be interesting to see if/how much buyers are willing to pay their agent and I'm most interested to see if Fannie/Freddie begin to allow for either a lower down payment or allow for financed buyer fees. After talking with an agent yesterday, there are numerous ways this could go, anyone care to weigh in with their thoughts?

Lawsuit leads to big payout, could rewrite how buyers and sellers interact with real estate agents during property sale process

03/07/2024

2023 was a rough year in our industry. Only 4.3 million loans were originated, the lowest in 30 years, and 47% of those were first time home buyers. 2024 should be much of the same unless rates get low enough to entice people to move and give up their sub 3% rates!

New ICE origination data offers interesting takeaways on FTHBs

02/28/2024

Attention all homeowners! When it comes to filing your taxes, remember that owning a home comes with perks. Don't miss out on any benefits you're eligible for. Check out these and make the most of your homeownership goals.

02/23/2024

Ready to make that exciting real estate offer but want to ensure your finances are in order first? I can help with getting you pre-approved before you take the next step! Let's secure that dream home together and get you that Friday feeling of accomplishment! 🏡💸