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Compensation, Sales, Underwriting Tools; Tariffs, Trade, and Rate Primer

Posted To: Pipeline Press

Everyone has a different opinion about the economy. “Nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong” or “Everybody’s right (eventually), if nobody’s wrong.” How many times do we hear, “Even if interest rates are low, tight lending and high home prices stand as barriers to potential buyers.” Global central banks are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward further interest rate cuts, with rates in Europe and Japan already in negative territory. The slowdown in rate cutting includes emerging market central banks. Fannie Mae is out with its housing forecasts for 2020 expecting 30-year fixed rates will continue to fall, hitting 3.5% by the end of 2020, and home prices will rise about 4%. Fannie expects housing starts to be flat in 2020 compared to...(read more)