Hello Friends!
Well it is supposed to be a quiet trading week with very few economic reports due out as well as a short trading week with a half day of trading on New Year's Eve Day and closed New Year's Day but already we are seeing some global activity effecting the markets.
Tension and fighting has flared up between Palestine and Israel which caused oil prices to spike initially by a few dollars but has since retreated. Also, a possible merger that Dow Chemical was trying to work out lost financing and that deal fell apart today, causing stocks to go back into the red.
Mortgages are looking great though, they have improved this morning, gaining back some of the losses from last week almost putting us back to best rates since President Nixon was in office. I still can't believe I am sending out docs for clients with a 30-yr fixed rate in the upper 4% range.
As I pointed out in the video, John Maxwell had a great point today I read in his daily devotional. "Life is a journey, a process. Every day you must deliberately make the effort to take a few steps. Learn, grow, become better than you are today. The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine!"
Wow, how true is that! Please watch the video for more details!
Be Blessed!
Hello Friends,
I hope you all had a very special Holiday and Christmas with your family and friends. As I point out in the video, it was a special Christmas for my family this year between the white Christmas, less gift giving and more loving conversations, great times.
The market has been trading very lightly all week with limited trading days as well the holiday schedule. Today, mortgage backed securities are trading in a window of about 25 basis points and is currently up 12. Stocks are not moving much either surprisingly with the economic data that came out today but the DOW is up 58 as I type.
Unemployment hit a 26 year high dating back to 1982, but as I point out in the video, there were 169,000,000 people of voting age living in the US then and now we have 230,000,000 people of voting age, so these numbers as well as most numbers can lean or skew toward the author or reporters point.
Still not good though either way. The core personal consumption expenditure report which the Fed uses as their key gauge in deciding on monetary policy and rate cuts fell again, year over year into their "safe zone" of 1.9% down from 2.0% in October. So this is good news too for mortgages, this news and with oil staying in the mid $30 a barrel range, rates should continue to stay at historic lows.
Please watch the video for more details.
Be Blessed!
Hello Friends,
Well the hangover continues from the "good" news from the Feds on Tuesday. The DOW closed down 219 on news of 2 of the Big 3 automakers stating they will be shutting down production until inventory of existing vehicles starts moving. Chrysler stated they were going to halt production at 30 plants for the month of January. The White House responded though with the comment that they "would not allow a disorderly collapse of the auto giants."
Also hurting stocks was the talk of Chrysler being absorbed by GM in a buyout, this caused GM stock to tumble 13%. Kind of mixed excitement with a barrel of oil dropping by more than 10% in value today, bringing prices down to nearly $36 a barrel. That should translate to $1.50 at the pumps soon. The problem though is this pulls down values on other energy stocks which added to stock declines today. Please watch the video for more details about mortgage rates and economic reports from today.
Finally, I would like to leave with a thought from John Maxwell, "Nothing will have a greater impact on your future than the choices you make today. Each time you make a choice, you move a little farther in a particular direction, for good or for ill. Choose wisely, and the bridge you build will take you to the future your desire."
Be Blessed!
Hello Friends,
What an interesting few days. More so yesterday. The Feds hit it out of the park or better yet as one commentator’s analogy, they did the western shoot out and emptied all their bullets, hopefully this works. The follow up comment was, " they can just make more bullets though if they run out!" Which is true in a way but part of the hangover from yesterday's 355 DOW gain and 133 basis point gain on mortgage backed securities was the Asian and European financial markets when they opened in the middle of the night. The dollar plummeted to a 13 years low in value against the Yen and not much better against the Euro when they opened.
So a weak dollar is never good. This could help US exports but would negate that by causing imports to go up. Also, as I will explain in the video, oil is traded around the world based on the US Dollar, so if imports, oil and cost of goods start rising, inflation rears its ugly head again, immediately driving up mortgage rates.
Keep that in mind if you are sitting on the fence to buy or refinance, at this point a little bit of greed may be setting in as 4.75% on a 30-yr fixed should be a "shout from the rooftops" type rate to have! I would enjoy adding you to my "adopt a mortgage" program if your current mortgage is not currently managed by me and my team. Please contact me and let me know how I can serve you.
Thank you for the opportunity, stay warm and BE BLESSED!
Travis
Hello Friends,
Well the market is closed and no more crazy trading. The DOW traded in a range or 335 point today while mortgage backed securities traded in a range of 100! So we are fortunate to close with both the DOW and MBS in the black. Mortgage rates continued to improve although investors are not ready to give away the farm with locking in the mid 4% range. To lock clients at 4.875% is always a fun, emotional crossroads for clients to brag about.
A lot of the whipsaw trading was due to the "Big 3" action. After the House passed a $14 billion package to assist the auto makers, the Senate shot it down. So initially this was very bad news for stocks only to have the US Treasury come out and say they were going to help the Big 3, hence the reversal.
Also, oil lost its momentum from earlier in the week and closed down $3 a barrel, which is surprising knowing how the Dollar got pummeled today against the Yen and other currencies.
So going into Monday, we should continue to see rates at all time lows, which should cause people to realize this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy up or investment properties and for those that want to stay put, a great chance to lock in an awesome rate for 30 years.
Be Blessed!
Travis
As a Certified Mortgage Planner, it gives me the privilege to help families build for their future as well as continue an ongoing relationship where I become their trusted advisor and debt manager.
About Me:
When I reflect on my life so far, I like to think that it is punctuated with passion: Passion for God, passion for family, passion for the community. This passion fueled my career in the military and later in the Beaverton police department. I served for 11 years as an officer and completed a degree in criminal justice. After my wife became pregnant with our second child, I sought out alternative career opportunities that would allow me to continue to give to the community and fulfill my most important role as father to Karmen and Austin.
Through the process of creating my life plan and business vision with my Christian life and business coach, we found that for my vision to come to life, an excellent team had to be created. I have found like-minded individuals and team players that shared my values and core. We are passionate about serving our clients and empowering their financial futures.
When I am not working, I spend time with my family attending my children's activities, traveling and volunteering as a youth leader with high schools kids with Young Life. I also attend Beaverton Foursquare where my family calls our church home. Some other hobbies of mine include working out, Trail Blazers games and golfing.
Areas of Expertise
Being a Certified Mortgage Planner gives me the privilege to help families build for the future as well as continue an ongoing relationship where I become their trusted advisor and debt manager. I am happy to apply my experiences and keen sense of detail to crafting creative solutions to the financial needs of my clients. Currently I am managing over $70 million in mortgages for my clients and constantly strategizing with market trends and opportunities for my clients to create more wealth and become debt free.
Learn more about our mortgage planning and managment process as my client and referral partner interactive forum at www.neliton.com
My Team
Amy Yoder - Mortgage Planning Partner
Amy works with Travis to ensure that the process of obtaining a loan is productive and painless. She assists Travis in laying out a plan for each client to make certain that each client's goals are met. With Travis' client's best interest in mind, Amy works to find the appropriate loan and lender and gathers together what is needed for each transaction.
Lya Macaya, Transaction Coordinator
Lya works to create a smooth, seamless loan transaction for her clients and all parties involved. It is her responsibility to submit and process all loans while maintaining open communication with borrowers, lenders and Realtors. Lya works directly with clients to be certain that all information needed by the lender for each loan is complete and accurate so that each loan closes easily and timely.
Tyler Colson - Business Development Partner
Tyler's role is to help clients stay in touch once they have left their consultation, finished their home purchase or mortgage redesign and the ongoing management of their mortgage. In addition to keeping clients up to date on the financial and mortgage markets, we will continue to monitor the financing you have chosen and make certain it best matches your short and long term financial goals.
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