Mortgage Express NMLS 114546

11/15/2024

Here is some interesting post election food for thought. With President Elect Trump assigning Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy the task of working to identify waste and inefficiency in the federal government, the prospects for lower mortgage rates going forward could be improving. With a reduction in the amount of treasury bonds being issued to finance government activities, that will increase the price of those bonds and reduce their associated interest rates. Of course, this will not happen overnight but over time it could bring back some rates that may help with the affordability issues that we are currently facing. So, when the news comes through concerning their efforts, you can know that they may hold some benefits for all of us.

Home News MarketWatch Why one economist says Elon Musk could hold the key to lower mortgage rates Why one economist says Elon Musk could hold the key to lower mortgage rates Provided by Dow Jones Nov 14, 2024 3:55pm By Aarthi Swaminathan One way the government can address high mortgage rates is to r...

08/18/2024

Is there relief on the horizon for prospective homebuyers? Home prices here in the 253 seem to be moderating and starting next month, the Federal Reserve now seems poised to start cutting interest rates. If the forecasts for those rate cuts are to be believed, we should start to see lower rates this year and they may continue to drop through next year. If home prices don't move upward in response to the lower rates, we may begin to see affordability improve. If you're interested in buying a home in the near term, you may want to do is sooner rather than later and stretch to buy a house now and focus on taking advantage of next year's lower rates when that time comes. That way, you can secure today's prices and avoid possible price hikes that may come with next year's lower rates. We are here to help you so please don't hesitate to reach out!

01/08/2024

When you try hard to improve people's lives, it's very gratifying to get a confirmation of having done so. Last week, a reverse mortgage customer from last year told me that we had done just that. With the freedom afforded by having no more mortgage payments, travel, home improvements and just ease of life has made the life of this customer better and he told me so. He has family out of state and he is now much more present in the lives of his grandkids and he has also made some long desired improvements on his home. He was so happy that he had done the loan and wished he had done it earlier.
If you or someone close to you is 62 or over and would like to see what is possible through doing a reverse, just give us a call and we can go over the possibilities with you. You (or they) may be surprised by what might be.

12/17/2023

For people who have been wanting to buy or sell real estate, 2023 has been a difficult year. Interest rates spiked beginning in 2021 with conventional rates being in the 2.5% range and in October of this year, that same loan would have a rate of over 8%. It's been brutal. But now it look like we have finally peaked and are beginning to trail down. While we don't know where rates will be going, It has been interesting, though, to follow the yield on the 10-year treasury note to give us some guidance on where rates may be headed. This past October, that yield touched 5% and this past Friday they settled below 4% at 3.91%. That is a very rapid drop in the yield and may signal better rates may be coming. If you're interested, here is a link to the chart on the 10 year bond:

01/26/2022

I said this same thing about this flawed advice about a year ago. There are some very adverse impacts to getting into shorter term loans so you can pay off tax deductible, low rate debt and then not have the money to seek out higher rate of return investments.

Both Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman suggest taking out a mortgage that comes with a huge opportunity cost. Here's what you should know.

12/21/2021

For anyone looking for housing in Tacoma, this will not be news but it is an affirmation that it is pretty darned competitive to get into the city as either a buyer or tenant. Tacoma ranked the eighth most competitive city in the country for renters this year.

In 2021, the most competitive rental markets were small metros, within close proximity of nature that allow for an affordable lifestyle. So, with their high demand, low apartment availability and renters with high credit scores, the top three most coveted locations to rent in this year were Eugene,....

10/12/2021

Tis that time of year again…the time of year when real estate “experts” share their opinions with us about what to expect in the market for year ahead. While we can see predictions ranging from modest market downturns to the very enthusiastic prediction of 16% appreciation between now and the end of next year. It is important to remember as you see these predictions that there are many market variables that can affect real estate both nationally and locally. These variables make predicting very difficult, indeed. There was a recent article published by Fortune that admits how inaccurate many of last year’s predictions were. Here is the quote about the topic:
“We should also emphasize how hard it is to forecast home price growth. At the onset of the pandemic—which saw some states temporarily ban in-person real estate viewings while the unemployment rate soared to nearly 15%—CoreLogic forecast that between April 2020 and April 2021 home prices would fall 1.3%. For that same period, Zillow forecast that prices would fall 2% to 3%. Of course, they weren’t even close: The housing market during the COVID-19 pandemic has been among the tightest and most competitive in U.S. history.”
So, if you read the predictions for next year, take them with a grain…or full shaker…of salt. There may be some predictions that luck out and get close to what we see next year but the vast majority of these market guesses will not even be in the ballpark when we look back on the 2022 real estate market. Don’t plan on what any “expert” says. With the rapid appreciation that we saw that we saw this year, we need to remember that years like that are (or should be) very rare and we will most likely not see another year with appreciation like that for quite some time.

10/11/2021

Goldman Sachs is predicting national real estate prices to be 16% higher at the end of next year than they are right now. Here's to hoping that our local market does not see appreciation like that. With the median price for a home in Tacoma currently at approximately $461,000 today, that would push that value up to just under $535,000. That would really push affordability to the limit and be very harmful to first time buyers. That would also start to look much more like a bubble than what we have today.

If you thought home prices couldn't go any higher from their ridiculously expensive levels, you won't be happy to hear this.

09/30/2021

This article makes for some interesting reading...

The housing crunch is still a reality.

09/23/2021

Here is an interesting article about the downsides of parting with cash to buy real estate.

Buying a house in cash may seem like a good idea, but it's a decision you could regret. Here's why.

09/13/2021

Real estate appraisers are entrusted to be professional and objective neutral parties that are tasked with coming up with a value for real estate. Factors that play into value are things such as size, location, quality and condition. The race of the current owner should NEVER be taken into account. This is yet another example of the unprofessionalism of that industry. It is very disheartening that we are having to see stories like this one in 2021.

Appraisal discrimination is a problem that's well known within the Black community, but it's not widely acknowledged.

07/29/2021

With football season fast approaching, this listing is an interesting one. Although it is out of state and we cannot provide the financing for it, it would sure be cool to be across the street from Lambeau.

In preparation for the Super Bowl, we check out the ultimate game day party pad. Located right next to Lambeau Field, it's entirely green and gold inside!