With the 10-year treasury hitting an all-time record low yield today (February 25, 2020) of 1.31%, and mortgage rates at or near historic lows, does it seem to anyone else as if the banks are basically ‘giving’ their money away? For current homeowners with a mortgage already outstanding, or a property owner with far less […]
I was recently in a meeting where Barry Rosenblum, the owner of the Intelligent Office located in RXR Plaza, Uniondale, Long Island, was the guest speaker. He spoke about the trials and tribulations facing small businesses in today’s real estate and employment market environments. The predicament of competing with larger companies that may possess both […]
Mortgage loan originators, much like those of us in many professions including title insurance, will start the new year with a predominantly clean slate in terms of new orders in the pipeline. Of course it is hopefully not 100% empty, as orders will come in through December that will hopefully be closing in 2020. But […]
Some old adages for investing go that ‘nothing goes up in a straight-line’, that ‘you don’t want to be the last one standing when the music stops’ and that ‘bulls and bears make money but pigs get slaughtered’! Investors in real estate and mortgages learned this lesson the hard way heading into, and then following, the […]
With the Janet Yellen-led Fed raising the fed funds target range while signaling more hikes may be in the immediate future, will rising rates kill the stock market rally? And, by the same token, will the rising mortgage rates that will accompany the Federal Reserve tightening policy bring the hammer down on the real estate market through […]
With the US housing market having recouped most of its pre-financial crisis price levels (exceeded in some markets) in conjunction with the Federal Reserve having engaged in ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) for an extended period of time, is the market once again facing a moral hazard? First, how would one define moral hazard vis a vis the real […]
How do title insurance agents view the prospects for real estate in 2016? A survey conducted by First American, one of the major title insurance underwriters, reveals the thoughts and prognostications of those businesses that are in the trenches of real estate transactions namely title agents. What This Infographic of The Real Estate Sentiment Index […]
The answer to the question will depend on the location of the home but, some anecdotal evidence is pointing to an answer of yes! Anyone who knows about real estate knows that the three most important factors concerning the attractiveness of a property are location, location and location! For high-end markets like the one in New […]
Summary: With various housing statistics suggesting different things concerning the overall strength of the real estate market, which will ultimately prove to be correct? Or will the fact that the rate of household formation spiked in the 4th-quarter of 2014 when compared to 2013 mitigate this issue and lead to a home buying surge? […]
The price of crude oil is currently one of the big news stories that both financial market AND geopolitical analysts are paying close attention to! Where is the bottom in the price of crude oil, when will it arrive, what message is the sharp and steep decline telling us and what if any impact will it have […]
