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Jan 15, 2025 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
Mortgage rates have had a rougher start to the new year, climbing above the 7.25% mark recently. The big question that is on everyone's mind is "where are rates headed?" Let's start off with what we do know. The Fed has two main weapons in its arsenal: manipulating rates and the monetary supply. So far, we have seen the Fed take center stage with its interest rate policies.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced 2025 Conforming Loan Limits for all conventional loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The baseline loan amount for 2025 is as follows:1-unit Property – $806,5002-unit Property – $1,032,6503-unit Property – $1,248,1504 unit Property – $1,551,250Note that the 2024 baseline loan limit for a 1-unit property was $766,550. Single-family homes, Condominiums, and Townhomes are considered 1-unit properties.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
It's too early to get too far ahead of ourselves, but so far the mortgage rate market is improving dramatically in the last 72 hours. Stay tuned. This may help a lot of people. I wanted to share some insights on how election years can impact personal finances, as it's an important consideration for many. Here are a few key areas to keep in mind: Market Volatility and Investment PortfoliosElection years often bring stock market volatility due to potential policy changes.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
columbiachronicle.com | Matt Brady
November 1, 2024 Callum Meyer, a sophomore at Columbia College, is a transgender gay man from rural Iowa. An illustration major, he decided to attend Columbia because he wanted to go to an art school in a city. He also hated living in Iowa, he said. “My last couple years in high school, Iowa passed three anti-trans laws,” Meyer said.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
As we know, the Fed cut rates for the first time in over 4 years. It was larger than I had expected at 50bps. Since then, however, the market has bounced higher. I mentioned this would happen in a "buy the rumor, sell the news" type of event. The market aggressively priced in a rate cut, when the Fed actually did it, they readjusted their bets and pushed rates higher. Take a look below (cut rates on highlighted portion): Nothing sprints without a break. We have been in a downtrend since Spring.
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Sep 11, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
We have a big week ahead of us. We receive the last inflation reports before the Fed's interest rate decision next week. The market is betting on a 100% probability of a rate cut and the odds of a 50bp cut have been inching up slowly. With the Fed pivot about to take place, it makes sense for them to cut rates by 25bps. They still need to make sure inflation is under control. If we begin to hear the "R" word (recession) in the mainstream media more frequently, then a more aggressive cut may occur.
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Aug 26, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
When Chairman Powell said this in Jackson Hole it was a long time coming!“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Mr. Powell said during the Kansas City Fed’s annual conference at Jackson Hole in Wyoming. “The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.” If they had given a .25 point in June I think our landing could have been softened and the markets could recover.
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Aug 21, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
I have been closely watching rates and blogging weekly about how the Fed is making decisions and trying to figure out when they will make the cuts they promised. Well according to the revised job numbers, the reasons for most of their decisions have been based on false numbers. The U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported, the government said Today.
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Aug 20, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
We had two inflation reports come in last week (PPI & CPI) and all aspects of the report either came in at expectations or below them...which is good for rates. The Fed has said repeatedly that they need continued confidence that inflation is trending in the right direction. These reports help provide the confidence the Fed is looking for. The Fed meets in September for their next rate hike/pause/cut decision and right now the markets are predicting a 100% probability of a rate cut.
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
activerain.com | Matt Brady
Last week Monday, we experienced saw panic on a global scale. Markets reacted sharply and returned to equilibrium during the remaining days of the week. The markets were begging for Fed intervention but ultimately it was a promise from the Bank of Japan that they will no longer raise rates. Mortgage rates dipped well on Monday and clawed their way back to finish the week. I mentioned a few weeks ago how I expected rates to revisit their January and February lows and they did.
