Tag Archive for: COVID-19

Buyer’s Agent Commissions Rose Again; One More Thing We Did Not Need To Worry About…

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In late 2023 and early 2024 – the world was coming to an end. It was scary. The reason? Everyone seemed to believe that buyer’s agent commissions were soon going the way of the dodo bird, as a result of the NAR lawsuits and the enormous extortion fees paid to trial lawyers (whoops, I meant commission settlements paid by major brokerages).Read More

Why Timing The Market Never Works: There Are Way Too Many Variables!

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We quoted a refinance to a borrower last fall with a rate in the 5% range. It was no cost, and it would have saved her thousands of dollars – but she insisted on waiting for rates to fall further because “the Fed is cutting rates.”Read More

What Happened to ALL Those Borrowers in “Forbearance?”

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There were approximately 4.5 million mortgages in forbearance when the number peaked during the COVID crisis in 2020. This scared the bejeebers out of a lot of market-watchers, as they […]Read More

2.7M Borrowers Still In Forbearance; Foreclosure Crisis Coming?

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If we do see an increased number of foreclosures, it will likely be at the lower end of the market, precisely where demand is the strongest. So, I suspect any “excess inventory” hitting the market will be absorbed quickly in any case.Read More

Why COVID-19 Is Not Hitting Housing Prices

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A few weeks ago, I blogged about why we are not seeing more foreclosures despite our severe recession and a huge number of delinquent borrowers. The reasons include: (1) borrowers […]Read More

Housing Market – Not All Rosy; Bumps & Volatility

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TOO OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HOUSING? “Stick to mortgages, Jay!” I touted the strength of the housing market numerous times over the last several months, and both borrowers and agents told me […]Read More

Refinancing After Forbearance; Credit Inquiries

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Over 4 million borrowers went into mortgage payment “forbearance” during the COVID-19 crisis, and many are now starting to end their forbearance periods – and wondering if they can refinance. […]Read More

In Defense of Cities & Large Offices

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I once had a client who was a commercial airline pilot living in San Francisco. As a pilot, he could live anywhere in the U.S., so he decided to sell […]Read More

Great Housing Migration; Credit Repair More Necessary Than Ever

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Chris Drayer, the founder of the Predictive Analytics company (Revaluate) we often recommend, wrote a great blog a few weeks ago called The Great Housing Migration. His point: People will […]Read More

Rates Hit Record Lows – Again; Forbearance Effect On Credit

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FORBEARANCES, CREDIT, & ABILITY TO GET MORTGAGE FINANCING I recently blogged about how forbearances will affect credit and a borrower’s ability to obtain mortgages, pointing out how borrowers just out […]Read More

Home Values – This Ain’t 2008! WHY? Inventory and Demographics

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I was interviewed yesterday by a prominent financial reporter who is, for obvious reasons, mired in the very “news” I suggested avoiding in my Wednesday Blog. Because she is so caught up in all of the negative news, she seems convinced that the housing market could easily see a repeat of 2008 when values dropped by as much as 50% in some markets.Read More

“Non-Bank” Mortgage Lenders vs. Banks; Who Are The Players? Why It Matters

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The only “non-bank” player that most Americans have heard of is Quicken Loans, and that is because of its massive amount of advertising and because it is now the largest mortgage lender in the world.Read More

Obtaining Mortgage Financing After A Forbearance

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With millions of future borrowers in either mortgage or rental forbearance, many people are wondering how forbearances will impact a borrower’s ability to qualify for mortgage financing down the road (when they are out of forbearance).Read More

Qualifying The Self-Employed – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

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Self-employed borrowers will still need to provide “profit and loss” (P&L) statements to cover the periods not covered by the tax returns. But, these P&Ls, which still need to show enough income to qualify, do not need to be audited in most cases, leaving some room for flexibility.Read More