Arbor Financial Group-Jeff Altman

A Big Thank You!

Getting lots of inquiries in regards to the Fed cut last night. I am posting this and recommending to all my clients to have the paperwork ready to go, so we can pull the trigger when it is the right time. The last time the Fed Funds rate was 0.00% to 0.25% was from late 2008 through 2015 and the lowest the 30 year fixed mortgage rate went on a conforming loan amount was 3.375%. The current conforming loan limit is $510,400. The Fed dropping the Fed Funds rate Sunday night... has no direct impact on mortgages and mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are determined in the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) market. Last week this market declined every day but Friday which caused mortgage rates to go higher every day but Friday. The closing interest rate on Thursday March 5th was the same as the interest rate all the way back to January 29th, 2020. A bigger impact in the Fed announcement was that they will begin to purchase MBS’s and that they will reinvest principal and interest payments from their current MBS holdings back into purchasing more MBS’s. This component of the announcement should (and did) stop rates continuing to go higher as they had done Monday through Thursday of last week. The longer term effect of this will play out over time. Interest rates could touch all-time lows again. The capacity issue with lenders is real and I hear some lenders quoting 60+ days to close a loan. In my 28 years of experience the clients who get the lowest interest rates are not those who try to time the bottom of the market but are those who partner with a mortgage broker that will help find the bottom for them; whether it is on a transaction today or six months from now. My advice is to get your loan in process and so we can be ready to lock in the interest rate when we see a great day on the rate sheet.

FYI. Some Coronavirus Numbers Check out how the coronoavirus has impacted companies and countries around the globe and keep in mind we are in the early stages here in the US.... Coronavirus Numbers: $3.6 Trillion: This is the dollar decline in the U.S. stock market between February 24th and February 28th. - 25.0%: This is the estimated drop in container volumes in February 2020 solely at the Port of Los Angeles, the largest U.S. gateway for seaborne imports from China. 15.0% : This is the percentage of Apple’s annual revenue derived from China. Apple said it wouldn’t be able to meet its fiscal second-quarter guidance. 200,000+: This is the number of flights to, from and within China that have been cancelled by airlines worldwide over the past month in response to coronavirus. - 85.0%: This is the decrease in business activity reported by sportswear company Adidas from Jan. 25th through Feb. 19th in greater China compared to the same period a year earlier. 17,600: This is the number of different Procter & Gamble products that rely on materials from China. - 92.0%: This is the percentage decline in vehicle sales in China during the first 16 days of February compared to the same period last year.

I want to share a post from a friend of mine Kirk Faubel, who posted this last night.My thoughts and prayers are with all 9 and their families who we lost yesterday. Thank you Kirk, for sharing "I will always protect you." It's a strong statement I have told my kids over and over again, Daddy will always be here. I won't ever let anything happen to you. As parents, we will stop at nothing to protect our kids when they are in danger. We will always protect our kids...until we ...Continue reading