Managing Equity and Markets

This month’s demise of three major banks sent shockwaves through an already fragile U.S. economy. The news sparked fears that a string of similar failures was imminent, resulting in a financial crisis similar to what the country experienced in 2007–2008. As homebuilders, lenders, and industry pr...

So CA rolled out a new First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHB) yesterday.It is a shared equity program. They will give you 20% down for your conventional loan as long as you use their 30yr mortgage for the loan.At some point in the future when you refinance or sell your home you pay back the 20% PLUS...

In the face of bank failures, the Fed still raised rates by a quarter point, as the markets expected. They couldn’t raise by the 50bps they wanted to a few weeks earlier and inflation is too scary for Powell to do nothing.We will look back on this and blame the fed for the impending recession. I...

Every conversation I have with clients when we are locking rates contains the question "what is going to happen with rates?". I then try to explain we can look at trends in the 10 YR Treasury to indicate the trend in Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS).The MBS operates in inverse to what the US Trea...

As a lender, I spend a lot of time helping First Time buyers qualify for a home of their own.This is why I think right now is the best time for first-timers to buy a house.When interest rates spike as they did last month and the market cools it is a blessing for those that are not in a position t...

We’ve had a very volatile week and there is another one ahead of us. For starters, you can add banking giant Credit Suisse to the list of failing banks. They have been bought out by Swiss rival UBS bank for a little over $3 billion. Just a few weeks ago Credit Suisse had a market cap of $8 billio...

In a similar start to last week’s edition, “We are coming out of a busy week.” This week, however, showed the economic cracks I have been predicting.Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) “collapsed” making it the 2nd biggest bank failure in the U.S. In a nutshell (I’ll try to make this short), SVB was takin...

A few days delayed by forces beyond my control but here are my thoughts. We are coming out of a busy week: home prices were lower than expected, but pending sales were higher than expected (the drop in rates in December-January helped get things going).The pending home sales numbers prove to me t...

Happy Monday! Rates popped up Friday. The inflation data came in hotter than expected and so did consumer spending. These are both reasons for the Fed to keep rates up higher for longer. Remember, the Fed wants to see a weaker jobs market, lower inflation, and a weaker consumer. Markets are stil...

Last week’s inflation data came in on the higher side of expectations. Investors were hoping for the declination to continue, especially off the back of a stronger jobs report. This spooked the markets in fear of a more hawkish policy from the Fed.Here is how institutions are currently placing th...