Loan Think

Break out the bubbly! The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped from 8.5% to 8.3%. According to BLS numbers, U.S. non-farm payrolls grew by 243,000 jobs in January, up from a revised 203,000 jobs in December 2011.

Will Clint Eastwood walk through the streets of Minneapolis, proclaiming how the U.S. mortgage industry is back? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, go see last weekend's Chrysler/Fiat commercial during the Super Bowl. (As an aside, I think the whole political take on that commercial has been blown way out of proportion.)

At the start of the time most people waste time conjuring-up goals and tasks they think will make a difference in their life. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's been proven time and again that most resolutions are ignored or just disappear after a few days (months for the real ambitious) of the new year.

Early Wednesday afternoon it appeared that New York and California would not be part of the 'robo-signing' deal and then - from what we're told - the White House put the full court press on the two, laying out the political ramifications for these two very Democratic states.

I own a pinball machine. BARRACORA is her name. It's part of the office furniture. I play it for fun. But I also play when I get stressed.

Many bank warehouse operations have been closed (PNC Financial Services) or have been "listed" for sale such as Bank of America and MetLife. For a bank to purchase a major warehouse lender the bank must have a liquid balance sheet and be able to support at a minimum of carrying the established warehouse line commitments of at least $1 billion (the estimated size of MetLife's operation).

Here’s a current-day dilemma to ponder: a listing agent lands a new bank-owned listing. Before marketing, the property needs an occupancy check, a clean-out, some minor repairs, and a few other maintenance items. Agent hurries to get the sign in the yard. A week or two passes before the bank approves expenses and determines list price based on BPO and appraisal.

The commercial mortgage market didn't get as much press, but it went into the tank shortly after the residential market did. However, if projections by the Mortgage Bankers Association turn out to be right, it is recovering steeply in that V shape that has so far eluded the residential side.

PennyMac released 4Q earnings this morning and the big news wasn't its profit - which was decent - but the fact that it bought almost $1 billion of mortgages from other lenders via the correspondent channel.

Although this past Sunday was nominally about a football game (and yes, the parade could be seen from my office), from a marketer's standpoint, it is also their Super Bowl.