Greenway Mortgage Blog

23 November 2021

What Will the Fed’s Inflation Fight Mean for Rates?

Rates could be moving up! On November 22, President Joe Biden announced the re-nomination of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell. Both said they are focused on fighting inflation. What does a good inflation fight mean for markets and rates? Typically, the Fed’s best weapon against inflation is to cool the economy by increasing policy rates . These rates don’t directly influence mortgage rates, but the end result will likely be the same. Bond and mortgage markets began pushing mortgage rates higher immediately after the announcement. Questions remain about how fast and how far the Fed will go with policy rate increases and the...

19 November 2021

MarketMinute | What are home building's mixed messages?

Retail sales, a measure of how much consumers spent on goods ranging from autos to food and gas, rose faster than expected in October, even as inflation pushed prices higher. Despite the strong sales, consumer sentiment hit a 10 yr low in November. Consumers are concerned about the current surge in prices of goods and services. Jobless claims dropped again last week, as the labor market recovery continues. Now a shortage of workers seems to be the obstacle to faster job growth. Higher prices and longer wait times do not appear to be turning buyers away from new...

12 November 2021

MarketMinute | Is the iBuyer model dead?

Consumer prices jumped 6.2% in October, the biggest inflation surge in 30 years. Core inflation, stripping out food and energy, increased 4.6%, the fastest gain since 1991. Wholesale prices rose 8.6% year over year in October, tied for highest ever. With the big increases in inflation, markets are speculating the Fed will raise policy rates sooner. Jobless claims last week fell to pre-pandemic norms, demonstrating the labor market's continuing recovery from last year's downturn. A brief drop in mortgage rates helped boost refinance demand, with...

9 November 2021

Create Your Work From Home Office with A Renovation Loan

Is working from home becoming more permanent? Is your living room suddenly becoming your living office? Perhaps you’re running out of space? Whatever the reason, it’s more important than ever to have a functional and productive home office. A recent Pew study showed that as of December 2020, an estimated 71% of Americans now work from home. Only 20% of working adults did so before the pandemic. In addition, a 2021 Houzz & Home Study showed that overall, home reno projects were up in 2020. Much of the work was focused on kitchens, home offices and outdoor spaces. These trends look likely to continue in 2021! While working on the couch or at the kitchen...

5 November 2021

MarketMinute | Is Zillow out of the home buying business?

The Fed left policy rates unchanged at this week's meeting and announced it will begin reducing bond purchases by $15 billion a month starting in November. Jobless claims for last week came in lower than expected at 269,000, a new pandemic low, as the labor market continues to recover. Continuing claims fell to 2.1 million. Private companies added 571,000 jobs for the month according to ADP, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate. Leisure and hospitality led the way with 185,000 new positions. Zillow announced this week it will be exiting Offers, the...

GREENWAY BLOG

What Will the Fed’s Inflation Fight Mean for Rates?

MarketMinute | What are home building's mixed messages?

MarketMinute | Is the iBuyer model dead?

Create Your Work From Home Office with A Renovation Loan

MarketMinute | Is Zillow out of the home buying business?