Jay Verburg Mortgage Lender

06/08/2026

📉 The Dollar Lost 84% of Value in Last 50 Years. Real Estate Protects Wealth 😮

🪙 A friend relayed an anecdote to me last night. Around 1967 minimum wage was $1.25/hour. If one hour was paid in silver quarters, then it would be worth $62 dollars today. Far outpacing the increase in minimum wage.

🏡 Buying silver back then would not have been a bad option. Another would have been to by Real Estate. Over the same period the median price of a King County home increased by 170%. The history of the value of Real Estate is long and consistent.

06/04/2026

⛵ Seattle Home Buyers: The Game Has Changed in Your Favor 🎊

📉 Zillow has revised its price predictions for the greater Seattle market. They were previously predicting small price increases but have changed that to small price drops. Technically it is supposedly a seller's market, but dynamics have changed in many market areas. More inventory, homes sitting longer on the market and many people moving out of the area are all putting buyers in a power position.

🤔 The change in direction is improving affordability but, there are ways to get the biggest payment improvement. I can show you how. Discouraged would-be home buyers are facing good reasons to take a new look. DM me 'Show Me' and we will set an appointment to see if we can make a purchase affordable.

06/03/2026

😮 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿'𝘀: 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵? 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗼 $𝟲𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀. 🏡

🫨 𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚: 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚.

💲 DM me Closing Costs for a consultation on how to get up to $6500 of your Closing Costs paid by me and my Realtor partner.

06/02/2026

🏡 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹”
Most first‑time buyers think getting approved is about having “good credit” or “enough income” but they do not have enough specifics to create clarity.

𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴 — 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴:
1️⃣ Your Debt‑to‑Income Ratio
This is the percentage of your income that goes toward monthly debts.
Lower DTI can you a better rate. Generally people get approved with up to 50% of their gross income going to credit payments.
2️⃣ Your Credit Score
There is often a lot of fear around this one. We can often get good mortgage terms even with lower scores. Especially for first time buyer programs.
Not the score on your phone — the mortgage score.
Different ranges unlock different programs and rates.
3️⃣ Your Down Payment Amount. You don’t need 20%.
Most of my first‑time buyers use less than10% down, and some qualify for 0% down.
4️⃣ Your Monthly Payment Comfort Zone
This is the number that matters most.
I reverse‑engineer your approval based on the payment you’re actually comfortable with. This sets your target for your home search.
5️⃣ Your Verified Income Structure
Hourly, salary, overtime, bonuses, 1099 — they all qualify differently.
This is where most surprises happen if it’s not reviewed early.
🔍 The takeaway
Approval isn’t about being “perfect.”
It’s about understanding these five numbers and building a plan around them.
When buyers see this clearly, the fear drops and the path forward becomes obvious.
📩 Want me to run your 5‑numbers Comment SNAPSHOT and I’ll send you a personalized breakdown.

05/29/2026

💥 𝗣𝘂𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 💪

🙆‍♂️ The Puget Sound Regional Council held a conversation on the region's economic competitiveness this week. The participants included many regional leaders. Former Governor Christine Gregoire, Erik Nordstrom, PNW Chair of JP Morgan Chase Kerri Schroeder and Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith. Their mission: ' PSRC and Challenge Seattle are partnering to develop a Puget Sound Economic Development Strategy to identify high impact actions the region can take to drive continued economic competitiveness. The discussion focused on the strengths and assets of the local economic ecosystem, challenges in the business climate and how to collaborate on economic development to ensure the region continues to thrive.'

🎗️ While the meeting identified many trends of concern, the fact that leaders from a variety of perspectives are calling for changes is encouraging. Here are a few bullet points:

➡️ Gregoire: We are at a 'critical point'. Without course correction Washington could continue to lose jobs, investment and business growth. “We’ve got all the underpinnings of a great economy, just like we always have,” she said. “But now we’ve got some significant warning signs coming at us.”

➡️ Nordstrom: Washington is increasingly more expensive to do business in.

➡️ Schroeder: Companies are paying attention to tax rates, regulations and whether civic leaders project pragmatism. Businesses need confidence to invest money.

➡️ Smith: Washington is now a high tax state creating cumulative pressure businesses increasingly evaluate when deciding where to invest.

👨‍🔬 Boston Consulting Group provided 10-year trend analysis. These are the findings that were at the center of the conversation:

🫨 1. Washington fell from #8 to #14 on CNBC's top state ranking.

🫨 2. 'Business friendliness fell from #24 to #41

🫨 3. Cost of doing business ranking fell from #28 to #48

🫨 4. Regional employment growth now trails the national average

🫨 5. Labor costs have grown 50-60% faster than the national average

🫨 6. Increased regulations stifle growth

As an advocate for homeownership the growing awareness provides me with a hope of positive changes.

The report also warned of rising labor costs, longer permitting timelines, growing regulation and declining affordability.

05/28/2026

🎊 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 💡

🥳 The April Personal Consumption Expenditures report was positive even though higher than Fed targets. This was good news and a surprise in the context of the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, Core PCE, rose 0.2% in April, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.3% – right in line with expectations.

❓ 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥? The month-to-month reading was lower than expected at .4%. That is the headline. What is buried in the details is it includes 2 months of shelter inflation due to the government shut down. Even with that the Core PCE (removing food and energy) was only up .2% month- to-month. Barry Habib of MBS Highway points out the implications. If only one month of shelter was in this report, the month-to-month reading would be .16%. That would put annualized inflation right at 2%. That happens to be the Federal Reserve target. That is much better than expectations.

📉 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 which moved marginally better today. Average 30 Year Fixed rates, per Mortgage News Daily, are at 6.59%. With that news MBS Highway is recommending that buyers float and watch for opportunities to lock when rates improve. This expert guidance helps me advise my clients to maximize their rate pricing. I recently locked a client before a move for the worse as recommended by MBS. It saved her .125% in interest rate increases. DM me 'rates' and I can show you how I help clients save money.

05/27/2026

🤔 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀... 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼 💯

🫨 It is suprising to many that a large percentage of buyers are Boomers. Between older Millenials, Gen Xers and younger Boomers that is where the biggest population of buyers exist.

05/26/2026

🤔 𝗜𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄, 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 ❓

💲 With recent developments in the local economy, many Real Estate Analysts have revised their forecasts of home value appreciation in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. As with anything there are a variety of opinions. The consensus seems to predict some price softening over the next year with average appreciation rates moving from a historical average of 5.7% to around 2.5% for the foreseeable future. This change is largely connected to the outlook on employment growth in the region. The analysts I surveyed include Zillow, Redfin, Norada, Wallet Investor, Matthew Gardner.

🧮 Considering the change in outlook I wanted to know if recommending homeownership, as a purely financial benefit, was still a good idea. Here are a few assumptions:

➡️ 1. Household income of $190k

➡️ 2. 10% down on a median Seattle home at $960k

➡️ 3. Single Family appreciation rate of 2.5%

➡️ 4. Tax benefits for married filing jointly

➡️ 5. 6.5% mortgage rate.

➡️ 6. Rental of a comparable home $4200.00/month

➡️ 7. 3.2% annual rent increase.

👌 Beside the other benefits of homeownership, financially it still provides an advantage in a short period of time. The chart below from MBS Highway Buy vs Rent report shows a breakeven point at around 3 years. I am hopeful we will see a change back toward the traditional business friendly environment in the region. It is good for government and local residents. That would mean a return toward historical appreciation rates.

05/22/2026

❓ How Do Interest Rates Impact Your Homebuying Power ❓

💲 Your monthly payment is one of the biggest factors in determining how much home you can afford, and interest rates play a direct role in that equation. When rates move higher, buying power can shift even if home prices stay the same. That’s why timing, strategy, and exploring different loan options can make a meaningful difference in your home search. Even in changing rate environments, there are often ways to structure a loan that still fits your goals and budget. Reach out to me and I can help you figure out what makes the most sense for your situation.

05/20/2026

📈 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝟲.𝟳𝟱% ‼️

🤯 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴.

🌟 As recently as February 26th average 30 Year Fixed Conforming rates hit 6.00% according to the Mortgage News Daily survey of 200 lenders. By March 27th that rate had moved up to 6.64%. As signs of success seemed plausible rates dropped to 6.29% on April 17th. Things were trending favorably until the impact of higher oil prices hit inflation readings. Rates rose quickly to 6.56%.

Over the last couple of days there have been quick increases up to 6.75% due to a few reasons.

✅ 1. Negotiations with Iran progress disappoints. At the same time the Trump Administration is not seen as being in any particular hurry to unblock Hormuz. This has pushed oil prices back above $100/barrell.

✅ 2. Banks were facing liquidity issues due to a number of reasons. The Fed purchased Treasury Bills from banks in order to shore up their balance sheets. That means The Fed is issuing more debt driving up supply. This increases rates.

✅ 3. The stock markets have been good to investors, so they have shunned bonds.

✅ 4. New Fed Chair, Warsh, introduces uncertainty to future Fed policy. Caution in markets seem to cause money to flow out of bonds right now.

👌 Thinking optimistically, rates could drop as fast as they have risen once a meaningful resolution with Iran is reached. Over time it appears Middle Eastern countries will resolve the chokepoint issue of Hormuz with pipelines. They are already moving more oil to places Iran cannot impact.

😀 Currently we can still get interest rates around 5.625- 5.75% with a 3% concession from a seller. In an increased supply market that is a very real possibility for a majority of buyers. DM me 'buydown' and I will show you the strategy.