I had a minor flood in my basement, Mortgage Fans, and had to clean out all the bins in my crawl space. This led me down a rabbit hole of finding the bin filled with all my old school stuff – yearbooks, reports cards, etc. Back in the 1970s teachers could say anything they wanted and not get into trouble. On my 7th grade report card was a note from my English teacher Miss Freezma who wrote, “Barry is a distraction to the class, has a hard time concentrating, is underachieving, and sadly I honestly doubt Barry has the ability to do better.” What?? Are you serious?! Honestly doubt?? I remember my parents reading that to me and it fired me up like never before – it wasn’t just like a light switch being turned on, it was like a light switch exploded in my brain! NOBODY WILL EVER DOUBT ME!! I used that one sentence as motivation for the rest of the year and you know what? I turned my D-average around to a solid C-minus average. Screw you, Freezma! ‘Honestly doubt’ – ha!! Some people out there – I won’t mention names – honestly doubt rates will come down in 2024. “Doubt” is a word I rarely use unless it’s talking about the Bears chances of having a winning season, or it’s a word I use in a positive context: I have no doubt interest rates will come down this year! More about rates below…
Doubt Quote of the Day: “The only thing that can stop you is the doubt that you carry in your mind.” – William C. Richardson
Possible Game Show Answer: “Q” is the only letter of the alphabet that does not appear in any U.S. territory or state name.
Today in Economic History: It was on this date in 1914 when Paramount Pictures was formed. Paramount is known for being the only studio with four movies that have made more than a billion dollars (Titanic, Top Gun: Maverick, and two Transformer movies). Question: Why don’t we see our Lisa Kudrow in more movies? It might be because she starred in Paramount’s Lucky Numbers which is known as their biggest losing movie of all-time. What’s that, Mortgage Fans, you want to know the Rotten Tomatoes list of worst all-time movies?? Okay, here ya go
Wuss’up This Week: This is a mild week for economic reports being released that can sway interest rates in either direction. Today we have Wholesale Inventories, tomorrow Jobless Claims, and on Friday the Consumer Sentiment Report and the Monthly US Federal Budget will be released.
Interest Rate Update: We had a nice little rally after last week’s Employment Report came in lower-than-expected numbers. Today we are looking at rates in the high-6s to low 7s for a conforming 30yr fixed loan at $250k or less, and from $251k-$766k in the low-to-mid 7s. For a jumbo 30yr fixed (*over $766k) they are in the low-8s, but for a 7yr ARM you’ll find them in the mid-7s. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, if you’re a first time home buyer, your credit score, and if you cross your fingers for good luck.
Doubt Quote of the Day 2: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” – Unknown Author
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Tim McGraw!
Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Soul Train T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It was on this date back in 2008 when I was one of the performers for a rainforest benefit concert. I was going to joke I was the only performer with a last name you can use as a first name but also on the venue was James Taylor and Brian Wilson. I do feel I’ve had as much or more success as those two guys – this includes 33 self-penned Top 40 hits (three hit # 1), 23 Grammy nominations (winning 6 of them), Album of the Year (named after a street), etc. From 1985-1994 I was married to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Was she too classy for me? Maybe. And maybe my song about her explains how I felt compared to her. This blog’s author – while a big fan of mine – says my Song of the Year nomination in 1990 was the worst song I have ever written, although history teachers may like it.”
The Adieu Mortgage Haiku:
Don’t ever doubt me
When I am predicting rates
I am ALWAYS right!
