Change is constant......

A Dose of Wisdom

"The future depends on what you do today." – Mahatma Gandhi

The First Hit

Wonder what we will get today! Epstein files? JFK files? News that the war in Ukraine has ended? UFO and drone news?

From my perspective, things are already picking up. I say that in part because as I have mentioned, we put our house on the market late last year. Now.....I KNOW that is not the optimal time, but for our little enclave of homes where few go up for sale, there had been five properties listed and all five sold in short order. I was actually WAITING for those other homes to sell which put us in a position of "if you want to be in this neighborhood, this is the ONLY option at the moment....and maybe for awhile". So we threw it on in late September.

There was a lot if interest at first but as we got closer to the election and the end of the year, it dried up. Now, with no movement in price, we have had a slew of requests for showings. It WILL go in short order. In fact, In fact, I may take it off the market, power wash the pool deck and raise the asking price by $50k. (it's a big deck.....)

I actually LOVE this sense of urgency the new year has brought about. Change....urgency....challenges....those are the things that make life interesting. Over the next few weeks, things will really pick up in terms of activity and loan production.

SO much has changed over the last few years with respect to how we approach sales in our business. What just a few years ago was almost exclusively a hand to hand combat battle, in the trenches, face to face, mano a mano.....however you want to describe it, has morphed. Is it getting ready to morph again????

These days, it is imperative to employed a multi-modal sales and marketing campaign. A big part of it has become digital from a marketing perspective. You HAVE to have that presence on line. You HAVE to build a brand....either personally or as an entity....preferably both.

The fact that President Trump has signed an executive order insisting that all government employees return to the office will I think ultimately have a spillover effect on our business. While there is no question that many jobs in our industry could be performed remotely, I think we will see a gradual return to the office with some positions continuing to be remote as some valuable people in our industry will ONLY work that way at this point. From a recruiting standpoint, firms will accomdate that to some degree...but generally speaking....I think we'll start to see people returning to offices.

The flip side of all of is that NO ONE should be lacking a disaster recovery plan for continuity of operations should one's primary facility become uninhabitable!

A Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) clock has been added to the US Debt Clock. Supposedly it is accurate and reflects real time savings generated by the new department. I don't know why I like this thing so much.....maybe it's the colors....but it's pretty cool.....

The US Debt Clock also has this slick little graphic on US Home Sales and Pricing!

Redlining Red Flags: Lessons from Recent Enforcement Actions

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) continues its “Combatting Redlining” initiative. Since September 18, 2024, the DOJ has filed four redlining consent orders, including three against nonbank lenders. However, all lenders can glean valuable lessons from the events and circumstances set forth in these complaints and consent orders.

Hedging 101 Webinar from Optimal Blue - Need to bone up on hedging? Optimal Blue is holding a webinar on the topic on the 20th. Register below.....

Click n' Close SmartBuy Program - If you have not added this arrow to your quiver, you are not fully armed to attack the market. No income restrictions - No First-time Homebuyer restrictions, available NATIONWIDE (sorry NY), forgivable, non-forgivable and shared appreciate mortgage (SAM) options... and you can buy down the rate!!! Instead of adding a slew of different state DPA's add ONE!!!! One that can expand your customer base, help your customers tackle affordability issues AND increase your bottom line!!!

Controlled Market Substance

10 Year Yield - Truthfully....I am not sure were we go from here. My sense is lower...and lower and faster than people might be thinking at the moment....but we'll see. At the moment, I think it pay to pay more attention to the news then it does price levels, trends, and anything that falls under the umbrella of analysis. It's almost like we have thrown everything up in the air and now we need to see where a few things land before we can start formulating on how to gather it up.

Now...probably nothing...just an FYI, but if you look back, last August, around the 6th, we had a bit of a flash sell off that was attributed to the Yen Carry Trade going south. Later this evening, the Bank of Japan will have their own little FOMC meeting and if they decide to raise rates, it could cause a ripple here in the US. We get Jerome's decision next Wednesday.

Have a GREAT DAY!!!!