How in the H-E-double hockey sticks is it September already?? Whether you’re having fun or not, time really does fly. It just hit me this morning that I forgot to give my wife the required two-week notice that my Sundays are no longer free because the NFL season kicks off tomorrow! I also forgot to tell myself that I’ve got four months left to make last year’s New Years resolution of losing ten pounds happen (*last year’s – 2023 – not this year’s, which unsurprisingly, was to stop procrastinating). I do think I should make my resolutions to stop making predictions; it was in my December 2023 blog when I said the first Fed rate cut would be in March and that they would cut rates four times in 2024. When will rates be cut? See the haiku at the bottom of this blog.
Year Quote of the Day: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. if you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
Today in History: It was on this date in 1951 when President Harry S. Truman’s opening speech before a conference in San Franciso was broadcast across the nation, marking the first time a television program was broadcast from coast to coast. Truman’s speech focused on the acceptance of a treaty that officially ended America’s post-WW2 occupation of Japan.
Possible Game Show Answer: There are more than 200 Kit Kat flavors in Japan! Here’s a good trivia question for you (answer at the bottom of this blog): Which one of these Kit Kat flavors does NOT exist: green bean, ginger ale, European cheese, or caramel macchiato McFlurry?
Wuss’up This Week: Every day reports about our economy are released into the wild, and it’s these reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. It’s the first week of the month and you know what that means: It’s time for me to clean out the garage like I promised my wife I would do a month ago (*see beginning of this blog about procrastination, blah, blah, blah). It also means that employment reports dominate, starting with today’s Job Openings Report, tomorrow we have the ADP Employment Report, and then the biggie on Friday which is the U.S. August Employment Report/Unemployment Rate (expected: 162k new jobs and 4.2% unemployment rate). As usual if the numbers come in better than expected you’ll see interest rates tick up, and vice versa if the numbers disappoint.
Interest Rate Update: Today we find a conforming 30yr fixed interest rate anywhere from 5.99% – 6.375% for loans at $250k or less, and from 251k-$766k they are ranging from 6.49%-6.99%. On Jumbo loans (*higher than $766k) they can be found in the high-6s for a 30yr fixed and mid-to-upper 6s for an ARM. 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’ve ever found an ancient Roman bracelet
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan that closes with me I will waive $450 in lender fees! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people that love historic photos that can use this gift.
Year Quote of the Day 2: “I thought I had mono once for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored.” – Wayne Campbell (Wayne’s World, 1992).
I know I only do two quotes a blog but this one was too good to pass up, so here’s a Year Quote of the Day 3: “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Selena Gomez last week! Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Groovy T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and I’m no longer a child (*one of my best hints ever, Mortgage Fans – think about that sentence). I act but mostly I’m known for singing. The first word of my two-word nickname is the same name of a classic rock group whose lead singer has a last name that will also make you think of royalty. Would I ever leave my solo career and go back to performing with a group? No, no, no – when I’m winning Grammys, I like to hear them say my name. And when didn’t I hear my name? I don’t want to talk about the MTV Video Music Awards, I had nothing to do with that fiasco.”
Kit Kat answer: I made this so obvious that I’m sure many of you outthought yourselves: green bean.
The Adieu Mortgage Haiku:
Love me a rate cut!
Fed cuts on Sept. 17th
A quarter or half?
