Success Quote of the Day: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” = Winston Churchill
Today in Economic History: It was on this date in 1994 when Sony wrote off their underperforming movie production studio Columbia. They purchased Columbia to help them corner all sides of the movie entertainment market but movies flopped big-time under Sony’s watch and they eventually cut ties with the movie studio. (*interesting that the flops didn’t stop after that sale. All the King’s Men in 2006 lost $45 million, and who can forget Basic Instinct 2 also in 2006 which lost $31 million. The biggest flop I could find was 2010’s How Do You Know which had a star-studded cast (Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson) which lost $123-million). What’s that, you want to see the biggest flops of all-time? Okay, you asked for it.
Wuss’up This Week: It’s not a very busy week for economic reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. Today we’ve got Building Permits and Housing Starts, and tomorrow Jobless Claims. Nothing on Friday. Interesting news about Consumer Confidence Report which came out earlier this week- it’s the lowest it’s been in ten years. Those who said it’s a good time to buy a car fell to the lowest level since 1978. Those who said it’s a good time to buy a home declined to its lowest level since 1982. Buying a household item fell to its lowest level since 1980. That said, I don’t think it’s going to be a good Christmas for me. And Inflation is still climbing which is bad, bad, bad for rates.
Interest Rate Update: Today we find a conforming 30yr fixed-rate (*that’s for any loan at $625k or less) at 3.25% with Jumbo (*over $625k) about the same. Still incredibly low, Mortgage Fans – so if you haven’t refinanced yet I suggest getting on it stat. Also, don’t forget Jumbo ARMs which are still in the 2s (as well as conforming 15yr fixed loans). As usual, rates will vary based on if it’s a purchase or refinance, credit score, type of home, equity in the home, or if your home has appeared on Zillow’s Listings Gone Wild.
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance closing with me I will waive $575 of lender fees! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people feeling old that can use this gift.
Success Quote of the Day 2: “If at first, you don’t succeed, you’re probably assembling furniture from IKEA.” – @jackmackenroth
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Joe Pesci. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and an anagram for my name is ‘Laced Scram Ham’, but maybe a better anagram would be one of my most famous character names ‘Agreeing Ogre’ because I was a monster in that movie (figuratively, not literally) and because one of the best lines I said in that movie was, “So you agree, you think you’re really pretty.” A year after that film I had two other box-office hits. The first was a coming-out party for my boyfriend in the movie who at the time didn’t have a hangover, and the other was a love story – I was hired to add some spark, or sparks – haha! Speaking of love stories, I married the love of my life in 2016, and a belated thank-you to everyone who did not come to the wedding if you weren’t invited.”
I’m gonna give the blog next week off, see you again on December 1st. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. And remember – every family is dysfunctional, not just yours.
