Who Let the Dogs Out?! (on these Interest Rates?!?!)

The other day I had Pablo, the little guy, in the car, and for a few minutes there was complete silence (strange....), and then all of a sudden he starts singing "Who let the dogs out, woof, woof , woof, woof woof " ...I know you are singing in your head right now! HILARIOUS! I love kids, they keep us laughing, that's for sure.

Who did let the dogs out on these rates?
They keep trending slightly lower each week! Well, the slowing economy (this week shown by the lagging GDP), global financial market instability, and of course oil prices, are all drivers that push investors to seek the safe haven of the bond market. Which pushes DOWN the yields (rates), due to over demand. Price goes up, yield goes down. Economics 101! Takes me back to my undergrad days. I was an Economics major. READ MORE ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MARKET HERE!

What is the Houston Market Doing?  

You may find the following link useful. It shows Houston MLS housing data back 25 years! While its true that our current 2.7 months of inventory is the lowest in the last 2 1/2 decades....its still a GREAT TIME to be buying or selling a home. Values remain increasing (just look at the attached trends!), and its a great time to cash in on equity selling your current home, and purchasing a new one. As we know...all trends must some day come to an end, and we don't know when these values and/or interest rates will slow down.

Enjoy the week! 

                                                 ~ Jen

Happy New Year!

This morning I took the kids to school, and I LOVE that we have a longer commute! The conversation today went from 70's music (my 9 year old is obsessed with the disco era!), questioning me if I had an afro (does big hair in the 80's count?), and when I was going to have a little baby in my tummy (that came from the 4 year old).  

If they want a little sister, they have to settle for the dog Lola!  Just to be clear, there is no baby in the tummy. The stream of consciousness though was HILARIOUS, and really got my day off to a great start!

Speaking of great start! FHA is really stepping up to make homeownership more affordable this year!

• On Jan 1, Loan limits increased to $326,600 (a price of 338,445 can have a 3.5% down payment and a 620 credit score!)
• In late January (no formal date yet) the MONTHLY  mortgage insurance premium will go down .500%, from 1.35% to .85%.  That is a savings of $42/month on every 100K borrowed!
• See more here! http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/lender/origination/mortgage_limits

 In the markets:

Last week bond yields (hence mortgage rates) DECLINED with the news of concerns about the pace of global economic growth. READ MORE HERE! 

May you be on your way to much professional and personal success in 2015!

~ Jen

Happy Holidays!

Hello, Friends!

As I am sure you are bustling around with gift buying, parties, and cooking or travel preparations, we wish you a SAFE AND MERRY HOLIDAY, wherever you are! My kids are in full sugar swing. In fact, when I lay down with Pablo for a few minutes at night to settle my little rascal in, it takes him about 45 minutes for him to stop moving. We are talking flip turns and hulk smashes still going on! What is this kid feeding on? It's funny but not funny. Really....I need to start reading labels a bit closer. Or just make him a vegetarian altogether. That's a thought.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I'm giving you a gift. Be sure to read below and see the links for attachments. It will help your business grow in 2015! It's just up to you to open the package, and implement! xoxoxoxoxo

IN THE MARKETS

Yes, rates are still low, and instead of giving the overseas markets all the attention, let's talk about HOUSTON! And what a rockin' market we have!  Ted Jones, Stewart Title's most loved economist, has released in a recent article this month that Houston-Woodlands is #5 on the Top Housing Market List for 2015! READ MORE HERE!!

 

HOW YOU CAN ENSURE YOUR SHARE OF TRANSACTIONS NEXT YEAR!

If you haven't set your goals yet this year...HERE IS A FORM THAT WILL HELP YOU START. Then, make a 'simple' plan to keep in touch with your database. I suggest you start with being sure you have a good LIST!  This simple excel form of your Top 50 Favorite People is a great place to start. Just think, if you had to start all over again, who would the influential people be that you would want to keep in touch with? There! That's your list! 

This is our last update for the year. We will pick back up on January 2nd!

Happy New Year!

~Jen

Be sure you have a Plan B Lender!!!

Happy Holidays!

My kids talked me into 'surprising' Daddy with outside Christmas lights aligning our driveway. How I got talked into manual labor, I'll never figure out to this day. At the time, the excitement of being with my boys, running around in the front yard, laughing and coaching them on teamwork was probably how it all started. So fast forward....and I started the chain of lights backwards, meaning, we started at the end, so when we finished at the plug end , and went to plug in....it was the wrong end of the chord! 

Okay, so we DID surprise Daddy, with extra work he had to do to unravel mommy's mess. I'll never live this one down.

Have you ever wanted to unravel something you may have started backwards? This week, we were brought into a deal 911, hoping to unravel and close successfully, just to find out that the buyer did NOT qualify for the 1.5 million dollar house he had been in contract for 45 days. Ouch. How he was able to be strung along that amount of time, and clearly did not qualify, seems negligent to me. And this other lender was...you guessed it, one too big to fail.  

Solution? GET YOUR CLIENTS TO RESEARCH PLAN B at the beginning! Click here  for a sample script how you can do that!!!!! We are here to support you!

IN THE MARKETS:

Rates ended lower last week as CHINA announced, unexpectedly, a ban on certain types of risky lending. Although it will make the financial markets safer for them, it will slow their economy. This in turn will reduce future inflation around the world, which is positive for US bonds, hence rates. READ MORE HERE!

Enjoy your week!

~Jen

Gratitude Is The Best Attitude!

Hello, Friends!

So it has begun: the season of gratitude, graciousness and generosity! How are you doing in all three categories? Even the smallest gestures can affect the lives of those around you! I challenge you to think of one ACT in each category you can start today, to change our planet!

Do you need help thinking of examples? Here are mine:

Gratitude: Every morning, I am going to write my sons and husband a love note before I leave the house

Graciousness: Letting people at the grocery store with 3 items go ahead of me with 100!

Generosity: Hosting 2 seminars in the next 10 days that will HELP YOUR BUSINESS!

So regarding the generosity part! Here is the information about the seminars. We hope you can attend one or both! And bring a colleague!

THURS 12/11,  9:00 - 10:30  (breakfast provided)

• What: How to make 2015 your best year ever! Tactics to implement now, to ensure your phone keeps ringing. And how to do it in less hours than you are now!
• Where:  Our new office! 2500 Citywest Blvd Ste 750, Houston, TX 77042 (Westheimer and Bltwy 8) easy to get to!
• How: Annette.ernstein@legacymutual.com 

TUES 12/16 ,  10:00 - 11:30 (lunch provided after)

• What: Negotiating and Closing Skills, learn scripts and tactics to negotiate a winning contract from a $100 mm producer (Legacy's number one loan officer! Josh Sigman).
• Where:  5151 San Felipe Granite Room, Houston, TX 77056 (San Felipe/Sage)
• How: Annette.ernstein@legacymutual.com 

IN THE MARKETS:

Stronger than expected economic news last week caused mortgage rates to worsen. Job growth was massively adjusted from an anticipated 203,000 new jobs number to 321,000! Along with flat unemployment, and an increase in wages of 2.1% from this time last year. All this points to inflationary pressures, which are not 'friends' of bonds. Read more here!!!!

Have a fantastic week, and we hope to see you at our events! 

~Jen