When Getting a Mortgage…Maybe We’re Asking the Wrong Questions
As I write this, the federal government has been shut down for 28 days. That’s four full weeks during which hundreds of thousands of federal employees have gone without a paycheck—a full month without income for families who depend on it.
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Economic Outlook for the Second Half of 2026: Inflation, the Federal Reserve, and Mortgage Rates
Last week offered the markets their first real glimpse of the "new Federal Reserve" under Chairman Kevin Warsh. Investors, economists, and political observers alike were watching closely for signs that the Fed might align itself with President Trump's repeated calls for lower interest rates.
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Payment, Not Price: Why Home Sellers Must Retire Their 2021 Playbook…
There was a time not long ago when listing a home felt less like a real estate transaction and more like securing tickets to a sold-out concert. Between 2020 and 2022, eager buyers lined neighborhood streets waiting for open houses to begin, reminiscent of fans camping overnight for the 1984 Victory Tour.
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The VA Loan Myth: Why Sellers Should Stop Overlooking Veteran Buyers…
For decades, investors, economists, and policymakers have relied on familiar inflation gauges such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index to help determine the direction of monetary policy.
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Rates Return, The Holiday Gasoline Miracle and The Bigger Economic Picture
For the first time since January 2025, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has climbed back to 6.75%, according to Mortgage News Daily, with borrowers still paying roughly one-half to three-quarters of a discount point simply to obtain that rate.
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Where Do WE Go From Here…
Inflation, mortgage rates, and gasoline prices have all surged to three-year highs, placing significant pressure on the U.S. housing market and causing real estate activity to slow sharply in recent weeks.
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This Week’s Market Reflection: Inspired by Styx’s “Mr. Roboto”
This week’s musical inspiration is drawn from the 1983 Styx hit, “Mr. Roboto.” The iconic opening lyric— “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,” or “Thank you very much” in Japanese—serves as an ironic backdrop for interpreting recent policy commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues.
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The “War” Is Showing Up in More Than Just Gas Prices
The war is no longer content to express itself at the gas pump. It has begun diffusing across asset classes with a speed and synchronicity that feels less like coincidence and more like a real-time demonstration of macroeconomic transmission under stress.
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Keep On Knocking….But You Can’t Come In…
Last week, the bond market looked like it was knocking on Heaven’s door. This morning? That door appears to have installed a deadbolt, a chain lock, and possibly a security camera.
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Friday’s Employment Report: The Market’s Next Hurdle
For much of the recent conflict involving Iran, financial markets operated under a relatively comfortable assumption: geopolitical disruptions would be temporary, energy markets would stabilize, and inflation would remain contained.
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