Rates
Well finally we are seeing a floor to mortgage rates this week, putting a bottom to the mass sell off which saw rates increase by .25 of a point.
This week was mostly about nothing, not much economic news, a little chatter out of the Federal Reserve, but pretty much quite.
Now next week, hang on to your hats! We have the Federal Reserve meeting next week, and there is a 63% chance that they are going to raise rates for the first time since 2006.
We anticipate that they will raise rates by .25%, which will probably have a knee jerk reaction to the stock market, selling of, and same with the Bond Market, i.e. Mortgage rates, which when selling off, increase rates.
If we get a smaller increase, say .125%, then we will most likely see stocks and bonds move sideways, but we are not expecting a rally.
We did have retails sales come out today, 0.1% vs est. of 0.4%, which is weaker, but still pretty solid.
I am still in the locking mode, too much uncertainty with the Federal Reserve.
Millennials
Do you know your clients, the Millennials, yep, these people who were born between 1982 and 2000 in the market for buying homes. Experian recently released some interesting data, thought I would pass it along for you to digest and get to know them:
- Average Credit score is 654, up from 625 the overall average.
- Average debt is $26,610
- Credit Cards 38%
- Student Loans 36%
- Auto Loans 28%
- To manage their debt 57% use mobile apps on their phones.
- Each one has an average of 3 financial apps on their phones.
- 39% are familiar with non-bank lenders
- 47% would like to use lenders that are not banks.
- 75% of them will switch lenders if they find a better option.
- 71% feel confident about their credit knowledge
- 32% down know what their credit score is, but 68% DO!!!!
- Top Financial Concerns
- 30% supporting Family
- 28% retirement
- 25% financial independence
89% of households headed by someone 25 years or younger are renting, compared to 37% for ALL other ages.
These statistics are good information, but how do you use them, well a Millennial is a person who doesn’t like banks, uses their phones for a majority of their research, care about money and are renters. They know what credit is and their credit scores and top concern is their families. Sounds like homeowner’s to me!!
Also, there is approximately 83.1 Million of them in the US, and it is estimated that 25% of the population in Idaho are Millennials. With Idaho at 1.634 Million, that means 408,500 are Millennials.
When you are writing out your 2016 business plan, Google some statistics on these potential home buyers and figure out how to market towards them and convert Renters to Homebuyers.
Lead generator
Lists, yep, lists are great lead generators. How many times have you been intrigued by a list, we can thank David Letterman for the List Theory. How many times have you been flipping on the internet and the Top 10 Reason’s Kim Kardashian is popular comes up and you clicked on it.
People are more likely to click on something that give them a list of something. And they are easy to find, just check out Facebook for an hour and you will find the top 10 places to live, or Top 10 reason Boise Idaho Rocks, or Top 10 Burger Places in the US.
Start sending out emails to borrowers with Top lists (don’t forget to ask for the business!), and to help you get going, here is the 20 Crazy things you can wash in a Dishwasher:
- Silicone oven mitts and trivets: Stick them in every time you do a load to keep them germ-free.
- Hubcaps: Yep, that's right. Just add a cup of white vinegar to the detergent you normally use.
- Figurines: Get the dust off of figurines by putting them on the top shelf of the dishwasher on a gentle cycle. Don't put delicate or gilded figurines in the dishwasher, though.
- Tools: Wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers tend to get a sticky, greasy feel to them. Put them in the dishwasher on the hottest cycle with your normal detergent.
- Toys: Putting toys in the dishwasher will not only de-goo them, it will also sanitize them.
- Flip-flops: Put them on the top shelf for the best results.
- Rubber boots: Put them upside down on the bottom rack to remove grime. Just make sure to wipe off any large areas of mud first.
- Hairbrushes: Remove the hair from the brush by running a wide-tooth comb through it and put the hairbrush in the silverware cup.
- Combs: Throw your heat-safe combs in the silverware cup, too.
- Makeupbrushes: Clean these on a low setting, so as not to melt the glue that holds the brush hairs together.
- Ball caps: To help keep the cap's shape, put it on a coffee can before sticking it in the dishwasher. Also, make sure your dishwashing detergent doesn't have bleach in it before you start the load.
- Kitchen brushes and sponges: Pop these in the silverware cup for a like-new clean.
- Light fixture covers: There's no reason why you need to dust. Just pop them off and put them in the dishwasher on a gentle cycle.
- Coffee maker: Turn the coffee maker upside down and use a gentle cycle. Make sure it dries completely before you plug it back in.
- Golf balls: Put your golf balls in a mesh sack and put them on the bottom shelf.
- Contact lens cases: Put them in the silverware bin to sanitize them at least every month or so.
- Dog toys: Most dog toys are top-rack only.
- Mouth guards: Keep your athlete healthy by sanitizing his mouth guard every day on the top shelf of the dishwasher.
- Grill rack: Make sure you use your hottest setting to get off the grime.
- Dog collar: Put it on the top shelf to get it looking like new.