Fri, May 26 2023, 11:12 AM
Did you know that wheat futures prices are at a 2-year low? And lumber prices continue to drop? Those numbers should help reduce inflation. During the...
Thu, May 25 2023, 9:34 AM
My notes from the MBA’s conference this week continue, including talk about new home sales being +4.1 percent for the month (+11 percent year over yea...
Wed, May 24 2023, 10:26 AM
As the MBA’s Secondary Conference in New York wraps up, and jokes are made about who actually paid for Fannie’s reception (informally titled “The Repu...
Tue, May 23 2023, 9:47 AM
Does your company have a decent product for a borrower who crowd-funded their down payment? How about a house with a granny unit in the back? Trends i...
Mon, May 22 2023, 10:31 AM
If you’re staying here in Manhattan, space is at a premium. I don’t recall the last time my room had a bathroom where one could turn the shower on, fl...
Fri, May 19 2023, 10:10 AM
For me, yesterday involved a trip from Connecticut to Northern California, with talk of a lack of inventory, relatively high mortgage rates, and loan ...
Thu, May 18 2023, 9:14 AM
This Commentary has made a name for itself in covering breaking, shocking news that other, lesser outlets are too timid to even mention. “One day I ho...
Wed, May 17 2023, 10:47 AM
I head to Connecticut early today for the CMBA conference, but on another personal note, congratulations to Robbie Chrisman, host of the daily mortgag...
Tue, May 16 2023, 9:19 AM
While Academy Mortgage is in the headlines again about its data breach and ransomware, from which no company seems immune, remember that, “In a democr...
Mon, May 15 2023, 9:54 AM
“When I was young, I was poor. But after decades of hard work, I am no longer young.” The quip about “The greatest cause of death is birth” aside, we’...
Fri, May 12 2023, 10:02 AM
If I had a dollar for every time someone called me a boring nerd, I'd have a mean daily income of $5.64 with a standard deviation of $1.25. Turning “b...
Thu, May 11 2023, 10:51 AM
In Boston, “wicked pissa smart” is a compliment. I’ll argue that success in lending isn’t based on trying to predict where interest rates are going, s...
Wed, May 10 2023, 10:20 AM
“We are going to have a sales contest this month. The winners will get to enter next month’s contest.” Hardy har har, right? (Note: watch Glengarry Gl...
Tue, May 9 2023, 8:50 AM
Wanna track your credit score minute by minute, regardless of whether you speak English, Spanish, whatever? I have no idea why any sane person would w...
Mon, May 8 2023, 9:28 AM
Amidst the seemingly week mass shootings and violence, individual deaths stand out. Heartfelt condolences go out to Jennifer and Dan Gilbert, of Rocke...
Fri, May 5 2023, 10:46 AM
Airbnb rolled out some changes in an effort to take business away from hotels. Mexico has about 400,000 Airbnb listings, and I mention this because to...
Thu, May 4 2023, 9:55 AM
Inflation? Yes, inflation! Yesterday I flew from San Francisco to Cody, Wyoming for the WMLA Conference, and indulged in a breakfast at SFO of a slice...
Wed, May 3 2023, 10:45 AM
If I tried to carry my cat Myrtle around like in this short video, there would be conflict. We all continue to hear conflicting information about home...
Tue, May 2 2023, 10:07 AM
If you’re really happy when a scheduled conference or Zoom call is cancelled, does that mean you’re in the wrong line of work? (Asking for a friend.) ...
Mon, May 1 2023, 9:25 AM
Did you know that cows snooze laying down for the four hours of sleep they need a day? Did you know that horses sleep standing up? These tidbits may c...
Fri, Apr 28 2023, 10:08 AM
“Rob, earlier this week you posted some ‘units funded’ information from the MBA showing a dramatic decline from a few years ago... Dollar-wise, certai...
Thu, Apr 27 2023, 10:27 AM
Born in Ukraine, Golda Meir said, “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do about it." (Doubtfu...
Wed, Apr 26 2023, 10:14 AM
There are 3 things that tell the truth: small children, drunk people, and yoga pants. HMDA data is close behind. Warning: sobering thoughts ahead, and...
Tue, Apr 25 2023, 9:51 AM
While here in Denver I received an email. “Rob, does what’s going on in Florida impact lenders?” I had to figure out if the author was asking about Di...
Mon, Apr 24 2023, 9:31 AM
I head to Colorado Springs this morning, the scene of $3,000 mountain bikes in bike racks on top of $500 cars. There are roughly 380 bank branches in ...
Fri, Apr 21 2023, 10:17 AM
California, home of nearly 25 percent of home loans, is doing some interesting things, utility-wise. Last year came AB 205 which instructs the state’s...
Thu, Apr 20 2023, 10:44 AM
Merry 420, which coincidentally was the yield on the 2-year Treasury note early today. Data and lawsuits about data… What’s in your wallet? Or maybe I...
Wed, Apr 19 2023, 9:57 AM
“Yesterday I asked my kindergartener what she did in school, and she replied ‘nothing,’ then later I went on Instagram and her teacher had posted a pi...
Tue, Apr 18 2023, 8:48 AM
“Last week I told a joke over a Zoom meeting. It wasn’t even remotely funny.” Working remotely from home, or at least adopting a hybrid model, is some...
Mon, Apr 17 2023, 9:28 AM
A friend of mine who lives in her own unit in a mobile home park was telling me that her rent is about to go up by a huge amount, and said that, “That...
Fri, Apr 14 2023, 9:42 AM
Who is Harrison Ruffin Tyler? Answer: He is the last living grandchild of former U.S. president John Tyler, born in 1790. (Tyler was President from 18...
Thu, Apr 13 2023, 10:19 AM
(Warning: cuteness ahead.) How does it feel to be a loan officer dealing with multiple borrowers on one loan? The study of how people borrow money, an...
Wed, Apr 12 2023, 10:29 AM
This morning I head from Seattle to Atlanta for some MBA/STRATMOR Peer Group meetings. Seattle has its share of hipsters, and sometimes one needs a tr...
Tue, Apr 11 2023, 10:22 AM
“The human brain is the most amazing organ in the human body. It works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from birth up until the moment that you buy yo...
Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:48 AM
I just looked at the balance of my checking account: $LMAO.00. Here’s a tip of the day to keep your bank account from going to $0 with this non-mortga...
Fri, Apr 7 2023, 10:11 AM
Rates can be 0 percent, but if there are no homes to buy, lender and real estate agent activity will grind to a halt. I realize that this is an extrem...
Thu, Apr 6 2023, 9:26 AM
My cat Myrtle never turns down a good helping of enchanting, diced, barbequed beef. (Sorry vegetarians: La Principessa is a carnivore.) I realize that...
Wed, Apr 5 2023, 11:09 AM
“I’ve had $8,000 in my bank account and I’ve had $8. Let me tell you, the $8 lasted longer.” $42 billion in deposits didn’t last long in Silicon Valle...
Tue, Apr 4 2023, 10:25 AM
I was having dinner in Manhattan last night, with the topics including Virgin Orbit filing for bankruptcy and the continuing Homepoint rumors (any que...
Mon, Apr 3 2023, 10:20 AM
Today I’m in Manhattan, having flown in to one of the nicer malls I’ve ever walked through, aka LaGuardia Airport. ($8 billion goes a long way.) No, I...
Fri, Mar 31 2023, 9:27 AM
“My landlord told me that she would like to have a chat with me about the house's sky-high heating bills this winter. I told her, ‘Sure thing, wheneve...
Thu, Mar 30 2023, 10:11 AM
It’s important to be stylish; just ask Pope Francis. (Page down once or twice to see the fake image. And we wish the 86-year-old a speedy recovery fro...
Wed, Mar 29 2023, 10:35 AM
Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, “I've lost my electron.” The other asks, “Are you sure?” The first replies, “Yes, I'm positive.” (Yes, its cutting-...
Tue, Mar 28 2023, 10:17 AM
John F. Kennedy has been gone nearly 60 years, and Jackie Kennedy (Onassis) nearly 30, but the couple still resonates with people. The first home that...
Mon, Mar 27 2023, 10:36 AM
“Once you lick the frosting off of a cupcake, it becomes a muffin. And muffins are healthy. You’re welcome.” Adding another expense to a transaction i...
Fri, Mar 24 2023, 9:49 AM
“I got stuck in a conversation with some wealthy people and one woman asked me how my investments were doing. I replied that both avocadoes should be ...
Thu, Mar 23 2023, 9:53 AM
Things are always changing. No bagpipe player I saw growing up looked, or played, like this. The MBA’s forecast for 2023 volumes changed, and here’s t...
Wed, Mar 22 2023, 10:22 AM
Overheard last night in Northern California: “’The Empire Strips Back’” is the best parody show I’ve ever seen.” I only mention that because life goes...
Tue, Mar 21 2023, 10:29 AM
The way bond math works, every man, woman, and child that owns a fixed-income security issued when rates were lower is now underwater on that bond or ...
Mon, Mar 20 2023, 9:43 AM
“SMONDAY: The moment when Sunday stops feeling like a Sunday and the anxiety of Monday kicks in.” Do you think the shareholders and management of Cred...
