“My Two Cents” is a blog where I share simple mortgage advice
From daily situations to my views on the market as a whole, you’ll find practical information on lending, home buying, and government regulations that affect the housing market.
This week’s newsletter breaks down the recent Fed rate cut, the immediate reaction in mortgage rates and bond markets, and what it could mean for housing in 2026. We explain why rate cuts don’t instantly lower mortgage rates, explore potential policy changes, and offer guidance for buyers and homeowners navigating the evolving market.
As we officially enter Q4 of 2025, I’m sure everyone has seen the headlines that the Federal Reserve decided to cut the Fed Funds rate by 0.25% at their September meeting. It is all but a lock that the Fed will cut again at their October 29th meeting, with Wall Street pricing in another 0.25% cut later this month. Before
I’m going to start September by looking into my crystal ball and at the same time I’m going to give everyone some perspective on what may or may not happen. My first prediction is that throughout this month, you will see a million headlines about “rates” dropping. The media is great at using vague terms or all-encompassing words to get people to
For most of the year, we’ve talked about The Fed’s policy of higher for longer, how the BLS jobs data is inaccurate and not reflecting the true state of the jobs market. This month might be a month we look back on as a turning point for interest rates and housing as we saw mortgage rates improve, and for the
We’re almost at the midway point of 2025 and so far this year has not disappointed if you like to see headlines! We wanted to spend our time talking about a couple of things that are getting very little attention but could have a big impact on housing and mortgage rates the remainder of the year and even into next
After last month’s shock and awe of the Trump Administration’s widespread tariff war, markets saw a glimpse of hope after the trade deal with the UK was announced. The deal kept the 10% tariff in place but lowered the all-in tariff against the U.S. from 5.3% to 1.8%. It was friendly to U.S. farmers and will make it easier to
As we enter Q2 of 2025, the majority of headlines will be related to the recent changes in tariffs, how markets are reacting and political views associated with tariffs. While this is a huge topic to unpack and we’re only 2 days into it we’d like to try and take a glass-half-full view of things. Let’s start by looking at
As we enter the final month of Q1, there have been a lot of changes when it comes to markets and the overall landscape in the United States. Anytime there is an administration change, there is a period of time where new policies are being enacted and old policies are being removed. This causes volatility in markets, and in 2025, this
As we wrap up the first month of 2025, it has been nothing short of a whirlwind. As President Trump’s Administration took office, they came out swinging—signing executive order after executive order, fast-tracking confirmation hearings, threatening to impose tariffs, and even changing the name of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” While our commentary is not political,
As we do every year we like to start out by giving a recap of what happened in the prior year and give our long-term forecasts for the coming year. Recapping is easy, but forecasting is difficult especially in a volatile market with a ton of external factors at play. As it pertains to mortgage rates and housing last year we