People Quote of the Day: “If we do not end war – war will end us. Everybody says that, millions of people believe it, and nobody does anything.” – H.G. Wells (*H.G. was an interesting dude, he wrote War of the Worlds – a story about a Martian invasion, and in 1938 Orson Welles broadcasted an adaption of his novel on the radio which caused a large portion of listeners to believe it was a real alien attack.
This Week in History: It was on January 23rd, 1977 when Alex Haley’s Roots began a record-breaking eight-night broadcast on ABC.
Possible Game Show Answer: A silverback gorilla can lift over 1,700 pounds. (*While I’m not a gorilla, this fact still makes me feel like a loser because last week I threw my back out carrying my old microwave out to the trash.)
Wuss’up This Week: We can’t talk about this week without first taking a moment to congratulate ourselves on last week. Every inflation report came in better than expected, higher than expected jobless claims (*yes, we root for bad news, Mortgage Fans – it helps rates), and Fed Governor Chris Waller said rate cuts could come sooner than expected. This helped rates drop a little bit, hopefully the momentum continues - although a quiet economic week this week as today we have the U.S. Leading Economic Indicators (expected: 0.1%), Jobless Claims tomorrow, and Existing Home Sales Report on Friday (expected: 4.2 million).
Interest Rate Update: It’s always exciting to me when they raise the conforming loan limit – this year it’s $806,500. (*when I started this gig in 1999 it was $240k, and from 2006-2016 it never moved from the $417k limit, and since that time it’s rising faster than my weight which is great for everyone.) So here we go – 30yr fixed for loans at $250k or less we’re looking at around 6.75%, from $251k-$806k upper-6s/low-7s, and for Jumbo (*over $806k) we’re looking at around 7% for 30yr fixed loans and maybe a half a point less for ARMs. As usual rates will vary based on if you’re a first time homeowner, type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like cool Lego buildings.
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase that closes with me I will waive $450 in lender fees, and more on refinances! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people that suffer from work-related ailments that can use this gift.
People Quote of the Day 2: "I don't like it when people say how many bedrooms a house has. Isn't that my decision? This bedroom has an oven in it." – Mitch Hedberg
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Pitbull last week! Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Drag Story Hour Mug? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and an anagram for my name is Circa Tall Ink. Let’s analyze that: What I use for my job is a circle, so that’s close to the word circa, right? Haha. Am I tall? Not really - 6’0” which you’d think would hurt me more than help me. And ink? I have no tattoos but I did ink a deal recently with a sports gear brand that got a boost after Tom Hanks made him his friend in a ’96 movie. I was snubbed for the most recent Olympic games, but at least I share a first name with an Olympic gold medal winner that used to have a different first name. My last name is the first name of a Superman alias (or a candy bar).”
The Adieu Mortgage Haiku:
Mortgage rates still high
Legos cheaper – I’ll just build
A house I can buy.
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