Greg Rielly - Residential Mortgage Broker

Had a nice lunch business meeting today at El Paraiso with Jim Ollom. Among other things, Jim and I talked about Everett Merchants baseball, a local semi-pro team I played on for four seasons during my college years. Jim is a great ambassador for the Merchants as he is from Snohomish County and actually played major league ball with the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. Btw, Jim was recently inducted into the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame. If interested in sponsorship/advertisement with the Merchants reach out to me and I will connect you with Jim. If not aware, Merchants players are a good mix of high-level college players and former pro players and they play their home games at Everett Memorial Stadium which is also the home of the Everett Aquasox, the High-A Minor League Baseball Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Go Merchants, Go Aquasox, Go Mariners!!!

Thursday I had a good lunch meeting at the Eight Ball Cafe with real estate broker Jim Tinsley. The Eight Ball is located in downtown Everett at 2727 Colby Ave. Great food & service, I highly recommend the Eight Ball! Above is myself and the owner of the Eight Ball, Rachid Ayouni. Rachid is a good guy!!

Returning home after being out in the field. Makin’r happen. Everyday.

The faces of a mortgage super team. Team Rielly: It’s a household name!

Always remember and appreciate a great American leader, Dr. Martin Luther King

NAMBPAC is the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' voluntary, non-partisan Political Action Committee (PAC). This is the only Political Action Committee that represents Mortgage Brokers' interests on Capitol Hill. NAMBPAC represents the Mortgage Broker Industry's voice in the halls of Congress

Things change! … What goes up most often eventually come down!!

As shown graph, the median Fed member now sees the Fed Funds Rate much at 4.625% by the end of 2024 as opposed to the 5.125% conveyed in September's dot plot. This was clearly better news than the market was expecting because here's what rates did when it came out.

Will interest be impactes and decrease further? While not a guarantee, I say odds are yes, likely so. While the Federal Reserve bank doesn't directly set mortgage rates, it influences them by making changes to the federal funds rate, the interest rate that banks charge each other for short-term loan.

Friday Wrap: Mortgage bonds and interest rates are holding! Inflation, the arch enemy of mortgage bonds and int rates, seems to be somewhat in-check, at least for now!! The 10-yr Treasury yield is trending down, which is good for interest rates.

Questions? Call, text or DM me anytime. Miss me, leave a message and I will follow back! Cheers!

KING, SNOHOMISH & PIERCE COUNTIES

As of November 28, 2023 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the 2024 Conforming Loan Limit values for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages.

In most areas in the state of Washington and of the United States, the 2024 Conforming Loan Limit value for SFR one-unit properties will be $766,550, an increase of $40,350 from 2023.

And like the below flyer, in the High-Cost Areas of King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties in the state of Washington, the High Balance loan limit value for SFR one-unit properties will not increase and will remain at $977,550. Loan amounts that exceed the local high balance loan limits will require a Jumbo loan product.

Brokers Are Better! This Broker Is Better!!

Fifty (50) years ago – when the median price of a US home was $32,500 – the National Association of Mortgage Brokers was launched.

Flashback Friday!! Circa 2010, my mortgage team on the cover of Homeowner Magazine. “Team Rielly: It’s a household name” Left to Right: Devery Rielly, Greg Rielly, Lisa Martinez.

Loans in the 7% range tend to have more costly discount (buydown) points. Be advised, not sold.

TGIF Friday. Big Jobs Report:

Major labor market data was released this week and was significantly stronger than expected. As a result, mortgage rates continued to rise. Basically good is bad and bad is good!

As shown above, in September the U.S. economy added a massive 363,000 jobs, over double the consensus forecast of 160,000.

The unemployment rate in September stayed the same at 3.8%.

Hello friends, prospective homebuyers, homeowners and realtors. If not already aware, I think what I have to share today is important to understand and seriously consider. Read my insights and study the graph and numbers. What are your thoughts?

Firstly, an elevated 10-year Treasury return like we have today means more costly car loans, credit card rates, student debt and of course mortgage rates. We’ve all experienced this. This elevation is gonna be around for a while.

As an illustration on how the 10-year Treasury impacts mortgages, see above historical graph and how back on August 9, 2020 the 10-Year Treasury was insanely low at 0.5660% (and at that time we know that Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed rate at a very low 2.88%). Remember those days? …

In contrast, now three years later, today on September 11, 2023 the 10-year Treasury closed much higher at 4.298% (and the resultant 30-year fixed rate as reported by Freddie Mac is much higher at 7.23%). A big contrast from August 9, 2020! We all miss 2020 but life goes on and many have adjusted and moved on to the new normal.

That said, we are likely not see mortgage rates in the 2's, 3's, 4's or 5's any time soon - if ever - but I do think we could see rates decrease to the low-to-mid 6's sometime by mid or late-year in 2024. Time will tell! ...

In the meantime, if you are a person wanting to buy, what are you to do?

Well, I think due to ongoing high inflation, low housing supply & high demand issues, plus positive economic numbers, home rates & prices are very unlikely to decrease anytime soon. That said, I think a solid buyer’s strategy is to adjust, buy now or soon to secure and lock-in a home price (along with likely nice home appreciation and a gain in equity!) and then refinance later when opportunity presents itself! …

What do you think? Comments are always welcome.

Call anytime. I’m here to help! …

I serve buyers, homeowners and realtors throughout the entire state of Washington!

What is the Waiting Period for a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac conventional loan after a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

The standard Waiting Period is:

Chapter 7 – Four years after the discharge date.

Chapter 13 – Two years after the discharge date. And if the case is dismissed, which happens when the person filing for bankruptcy doesn't follow the plan, it's four years.

Thank you, Megan Wilaby of Ballpark Realty. As you know, we all had a need for speed!