earnings

Apache is functioning normally

A strong reading in the Consumer Price Index is putting upward pressure on mortgage rates this morning. With rates continuing to move higher, we believe the best option for many borrowers is to lock in a rate soon on a purchase or refinance. It only takes a few minutes to get started, so take action today toward your ideal home financing situation. Read on for more details.

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Market Outlook 2.12.18 from Total Mortgage on Vimeo.

Where are mortgage rates going?                      

CPI pushes rates higher

We got arguably the most significant economic report of the week out this morning with the Consumer Price Index reading for January. Analysts had called for a monthly rise of 0.3%, but the actual reading came in slightly above that at 0.5%.

Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Jul. 20, 2023).

With one of the leading theories for last Monday’s stock market turbulence being an uptick in inflation reflected in the rise in average hourly earnings, there was a lot of anticipation that a rise in inflation in today’s report could have a similar effect.

Looking at the market today, stocks did fall immediately after the release of CPI but have since moved back up to above where they started the day. Long-term Treasury yields also had an immediate reaction to the CPI reading, jumping up by several basis points.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note (the best market indicator of where mortgage rates are going) is now up to 2.87%. That’s very close to the week’s high of 2.89% hit during early trading on Monday.

The implication here for financial market participants is that the Federal Reserve might be moving more towards four rate hikes in 2018 than the three rate hikes that have been expected.

Rate/Float Recommendation            

Lock in a rate soon

Long-term Treasury yields have moved back up near multi-year highs, putting upward pressure on mortgage rates. With rates continuing to move higher as the year progresses, it only makes sense to lock in a rate sooner rather than later.

Today’s economic data:                               

Consumer Price Index

CPI came in above expectations for January with a monthly rise of 0.5% compared to the 0.3% analysts had called for.

Retail Sales

Retails sales fell 0.3% in January. Retail sales less autos remained unchanged. The less autos and gas reading fell 0.2%.

Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations

The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectation for February came in at 2.0%.

Business Inventories

Business inventories are up 0.4% for December.

EIA Petroleum Status Report

For the week of 2/9/18:

  • Crude oil: 1.8 million barrels
  • Gasoline: 3.6 million barrels
  • Distillates: -0.5 million barrels

Get the GreenLight and close in 21 days*      

Notable events this week:                

Monday: 

Tuesday:    

  • NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
  • Fedspeak

Wednesday:      

  • Consumer Price Index
  • Retail Sales
  • Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations
  • Business Inventories
  • EIA Petroleum Status Report

Thursday:        

  • Jobless Claims
  • Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey
  • PPI-FD
  • Empire State Mfg Survey
  • Industrial Production
  • Housing Market Index

Friday:       

  • Housing Starts
  • Import and Export Prices
  • Consumer Sentiment

*Terms and conditions apply.

Carter Wessman

Carter Wessman is originally from the charming town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. When he isn’t busy writing about mortgage related topics, you can find him playing table tennis, or jamming on his bass guitar.

Source: totalmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

 U.S. Bank said it would use the deal for Union Bank to to expand its presence in key California markets including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, where Union Bank had a strong foothold. 

U.S. Bancorp in late May finished installing updated signage on the West Coast branches it inherited from Union Bank, but executives say their work to take full advantage of the acquisition is still under construction.

Improved cost savings and opportunities to meaningfully boost revenue should be evident in the third quarter, the first full one since U.S. Bank’s conversion of Union Bank, management said when reporting second-quarter results Wednesday.

“We are well positioned as a national bank with greater scale,” said U.S. Bank CEO Andy Cecere.

Revenue and net interest income were lower than expected in the second quarter, but strong fee income and lower expenses helped improve the Minneapolis bank’s bottom line. The quarter also reflected one-time conversion items.

“This was a noisy quarter, which reflected mixed trends,” David Rochester, director of research at Compass Point Research, wrote in a note.

The $680 billion-asset bank completed its conversion of the Union Bank system in the second quarter, marking one of the final steps in the $8 billion acquisition that yielded hundreds of new branches and millions of new customers. U.S. Bank said it would use the deal, in part, to expand its presence in key California markets including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, where Union Bank had a strong foothold. 

U.S. Bank said it has seen more new customers than expected engage with the bank, making use of its app and other online banking services. The bank has boosted its advertising budget to get on the radar of new customers and potential new customers in target markets, executives said.

The deal should deliver as much as $900 million in cost savings delivered through, plus a breadth of opportunities for revenue growth, U.S. Bank said.

In the second quarter, U.S. Bank faced similar challenges to those of banks across the industry, whose net interest income generally shrank amid greater competition in deposit pricing. U.S. Bank said it expects lower net interest income in the third quarter. 

U.S. Bank set aside $821 million for credit losses in the second quarter, up from $427 million in the first quarter. Large and small banks alike put aside substantial amounts of reserves early on in the pandemic in case the economic fallout prevented consumers and businesses from making payments on their bank loans.

“Credit quality metrics remained strong versus pre-pandemic levels but are normalizing as expected,” Cecere said on the company’s earnings call Wednesday. “This quarter, we strengthened our balance sheet by increasing the loan-loss reserve, reflective of our prudent approach to credit risk management.”

The bank cited growing credit card balances and continued economic uncertainty as reasons for boosting reserves. Average credit card loans increased 14.5% in the second quarter from the same quarter last year, while average total loans grew 19.9% in the second quarter.

“Consumers are now starting to rely more on credit card debt as a way of paying for their lifestyles,” said U.S. Bank Chief Financial Officer Terry Dolan.

Banks have likely seen the final positive impacts of higher interest rates, Dolan said. U.S. Bank’s noninterest income growth of 7% in the second quarter, driven by higher core fee income, exceeded analysts’ expectations.

U.S. Bank reported a profit of $1.8 billion in the second quarter, in line with expectations. Revenue totaled $7.2 billion, slightly above forecasts.

The bank said its common equity Tier 1 capital ratio increased to 9.1% in the second quarter, up from 8.5% in the first quarter. Capital ratios have been under the spotlight across the industry this year, and specifically at U.S. Bank. The bank’s capital level faced scrutiny this spring, when a research report argued the bank wasn’t holding enough capital for a bank of its size.

Source: nationalmortgagenews.com

Apache is functioning normally

“I think there’s been a desire to finish up Basel III,” Brian Moynihan, chair and CEO of BofA, said in a call with analysts. “From a global competitive standpoint, we’ve got to be careful here because the U.S. industry is the best industry in the world and actually does a lot of good for all the countries of the world, including the U.S. And frankly, the rules that are applied tend to be more favorable to those outside our country.”

Moynihan added: “They’ve [regulators] got to think through the downside of some of these rules, and that they could push stuff outside the industry to nonbanks that have the asset classes across the board. And nonbanks, including mortgage lending, which you referenced, half of it goes through nonbanks and those, the resilience of those institutions, is interesting to watch through cycles.”

According to Moynihan’s estimates, a 10% increase in BofA’s capital levels would prevent the bank from making about $150 billion of loans at the margin. BofA had an 11.6% CET1 ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2023, compared to the 10.4% current requirement.

Regulators have said big Wall Street banks might face a 20% average increase in overall capital requirements. Sources told Bloomberg that mortgage capital standards, which were not expected to change from the current 50% risk weight on first-lien residential mortgages, would change to 40% to 90% for large banks, with higher loan-to-value ratio loans receiving higher risk weights. 

Mortgage, home equity business 

The new rules would affect BofA’s mortgage originations, which totaled $5.9 billion during the second quarter of 2023, a 50.8% increase from $3.9 billion posted in the first quarter but still, a 59% drop from the $14.4 billion originated in the second quarter of 2022. 

BofA’s sequential production increase follows that of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which also posted higher mortgage volumes during the second quarter. It suggests the first quarter of 2023 may have been the bottom of the current cycle, when rates surged to 7%. 

BofA also originated $2.54 billion in home equity loans in the second quarter, compared to $2.60 billion in the previous quarter and $2.53 billion in the same period last year. 

Bank of America had $228.7 billion in outstanding residential mortgages on its books through June 30, down from $229.2 billion from Q1 2023 and flat from the second quarter of 2022.

The home equity portfolio was $25.9 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from $26.5 billion from the previous quarter — and a decline from $$27.8 billion a year prior.

Bank of America’s total mortgage-backed securities reached a $30.8 billion fair value as of June 30, compared to $32.1 billion as of March 31, 2023.  

Overall, the bank posted a net income of $7.4 billion from April to June, declining 8.6% quarter over quarter and climbing 19.3% year over year.

Deposits at Bank of America were $1.87 trillion in the second quarter of 2023, down from $1.91 trillion in the previous quarter and $1.98 trillion during the same quarter in 2022. 

The consumer banking division posted a net income of $2.85 billion, a decline from the previous quarter’s $3.1 billion and the previous year’s $2.88 billion, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

In a remarkable feat of financial prowess, a 28-year-old individual has shattered traditional notions of wealth accumulation. By strategically harnessing the power of multiple income streams, this trailblazer has managed to generate an astounding $189,000 a year while working fewer than 4 days a week.

As the rest of us marvel at their achievements, it’s time to unravel the secrets behind their incredible success and explore the seven streams of income that have become the cornerstone of their financial empire.

In today’s dynamic world, traditional employment is no longer the sole means to financial prosperity. Creating multiple streams of income allows you to diversify your earnings, reduce risk, and unlock the potential for wealth accumulation.

By understanding and leveraging these seven streams of income, you can take significant steps towards achieving financial freedom.

Understanding Multiple Streams of Income

Multiple streams of income refer to having multiple sources from which money flows into your life. These streams can vary in terms of their origin, nature, and the effort required to maintain them.

By creating multiple streams of income, you can enjoy a more stable financial situation and gain the freedom to pursue your passions without worrying about money.

Diversifying your income through multiple streams is not only about mitigating risk, but it also allows you to tap into different income opportunities and maximize your earning potential.

Stream 1: Earned Income

Earned income is the most common and widely known stream of income. It refers to the money you earn by providing your skills, knowledge, or expertise in exchange for a salary or wages. This can come from your primary job, freelancing, or running a business. While earned income is essential, relying solely on it limits your earning potential and leaves little room for growth.

Financial expert Sarah Johnson advises, “While earned income provides a stable foundation, it’s important to consider expanding your earning potential by exploring other income streams. This can help you achieve your financial goals faster.”

Stream 2: Profit Income

Profit income involves making money by buying and selling goods or services at a higher price than the cost of production. It includes businesses, entrepreneurship, and investments where you can generate profits through successful ventures. Profit income allows you to leverage your skills, creativity, and market knowledge to create additional wealth.

Profit Income Examples:

  1. E-commerce business: Starting an online store and selling products or services can be a profitable venture. You can source products at a wholesale price, set your own retail prices, and reach a wide customer base through online platforms. Profit is generated by selling products at a higher price than the cost of acquisition and fulfillment.
  2. Investing in stocks: Buying stocks of promising companies at a lower price and selling them when their value appreciates can generate profit income. Successful stock investments rely on careful research, analysis, and timing to capitalize on market opportunities.
  3. Flipping real estate properties: Buying properties below market value, renovating or improving them, and selling them at a higher price can be a profitable venture. Real estate investors aim to create value through property upgrades or by capitalizing on favorable market conditions.
  4. Dropshipping business: Running a dropshipping business involves selling products online without holding inventory. You partner with suppliers who fulfill orders directly to customers. The difference between the price at which you sell the product and the cost of the product from the supplier generates profit income.

Profit income offers the potential for financial independence and wealth creation. However, it requires careful planning, market knowledge, and risk management to succeed in various profit-generating ventures. By evaluating market trends, identifying profitable niches, and delivering value to customers, you can maximize your profit potential in this income stream.

Certified Financial Planner Mark Davis suggests, “For those with an entrepreneurial spirit, starting a business or investing in profitable ventures can be a great way to generate substantial income. It’s important to conduct thorough market research and develop a solid business plan to maximize your chances of success.”

Stream 3: Rental Income

Rental income involves owning and leasing out assets such as real estate properties, apartments, or vehicles. By collecting rent from tenants, you can generate a steady cash flow that can supplement your primary income. Rental income offers the advantage of passive earning, as the properties can appreciate in value while providing you with regular income.

According to Susan Thompson, a real estate expert, “Investing in rental properties can provide a reliable source of income over time. However, it’s important to carefully consider location, property management, and tenant screening to ensure a positive rental experience and maximize your returns.”

To learn more about the tax implications of rental income, you can refer to the IRS publication IRS Publication 925: Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules.

Stream 4: Dividend Income

Dividend income is earned by investing in stocks or mutual funds that pay regular dividends to their shareholders. Companies distribute a portion of their profits to shareholders as dividends, providing you with a passive income stream.

Dividend income can be a valuable source of long-term wealth accumulation, especially when reinvested over time.

Certified Financial Planner Emily Carter highlights the benefits of dividend income, stating, “Dividend-paying stocks can provide a steady income stream and potential capital appreciation. It’s important to diversify your portfolio and carefully evaluate the dividend history and financial health of the companies you invest in.”

Stream 5: Interest Income

Interest income is derived from lending money to individuals, businesses, or financial institutions, who repay the borrowed amount with interest. This can be in the form of savings accounts, certificates of deposit, bonds, or other fixed-income investments. Interest income allows you to earn a passive return on your capital while preserving the principal amount.

Interest Income Examples:

  1. Savings accounts: Banks and credit unions offer savings accounts where you can deposit your money and earn interest on the balance. These accounts provide liquidity and are suitable for short-term financial goals or emergency funds. The interest rates offered can vary depending on the institution and prevailing market conditions.
  2. Certificates of deposit (CDs): CDs are time deposits that offer a fixed interest rate for a specific period. They often provide higher interest rates compared to regular savings accounts. CDs are suitable for individuals who have a specific savings goal and are willing to lock their money for a predetermined time.
  3. Government bonds: Governments issue bonds as a way to borrow money from investors. These bonds pay periodic interest to bondholders until the bond matures. Government bonds are considered low-risk investments, and their interest rates are influenced by market factors and the creditworthiness of the issuing government.
  4. Corporate bonds: Companies issue bonds to raise capital. Investors who purchase these bonds receive periodic interest payments and the return of principal upon maturity. Corporate bonds carry varying levels of risk depending on the financial health of the issuing company and prevailing market conditions.

Interest income plays a vital role in a diversified investment portfolio by providing stability and preserving the principal amount. While it may not offer high growth potential, it serves as a reliable income source, particularly for conservative investors seeking steady earnings and capital preservation. It’s important to consider your financial goals, risk tolerance, and market conditions when incorporating interest-based investments into your overall financial strategy.

Stream 6: Royalty Income

Royalty income is earned by granting the rights to use intellectual property, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, or creative works. Authors, musicians, inventors, and artists can earn royalties from their creations. Once established, royalty income can provide a steady stream of passive income for years to come.

John Stevens, a successful author, emphasizes the significance of royalty income, stating, “For creators, leveraging intellectual property can be a powerful income stream. By protecting your work and exploring licensing and royalty agreements, you can generate ongoing income from your creations.”

Stream 7: Capital Gains

Capital gains occur when you sell an asset, such as stocks, real estate, or collectibles, at a higher price than its purchase price. The difference between the buying and selling price represents the capital gain. By investing in appreciating assets and selling them at the right time, you can earn substantial profits and increase your overall wealth.

Certified Financial Planner Jennifer Adams advises, “Capital gains can significantly boost your wealth if you invest strategically and take advantage of market opportunities. It’s important to develop an investment strategy aligned with your risk tolerance and long-term financial goals.”

For a comprehensive understanding of capital gains taxation, you can refer to the IRS publication Over the Top for the Bournes and the Merkels.

The Bottom Line – 7 Income Streams

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Diversifying your income through multiple streams of income is a powerful strategy for achieving financial prosperity. By incorporating various income sources, such as earned income, profit income, rental income, dividend income, interest income, royalty income, and capital gains, you can create a robust and resilient financial foundation.

Remember, building multiple streams of income requires time, effort, and a strategic approach. Stay committed, invest wisely, and continually explore new opportunities to secure your financial future.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com

Apache is functioning normally

Following an initial public offering, or IPO, many companies and investment bankers will tie your stock up in a lock-up period to stop you from cashing out too quickly and help keep the share price steady.

That may be frustrating if you’re an early employee and investor in a company that’s about to go public, as you may be expecting the value of your stock to skyrocket after the initial public offering, and were hoping to sell some shares. But lock-up periods serve a purpose, and stakeholders will need to know how to navigate them.

What Is an IPO Lock-up Period?

As a part of the IPO process, the IPO lock-up period is the length of time after a company goes public, during which some early employees or investors in the company aren’t allowed to sell their shares.

These restrictions are not mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but rather are self-imposed contractually by companies or the investment banks that were hired to advise and manage the IPO process.

Lock-periods can be any length of time, but usually they’re between 90 and 180 days after the IPO. Companies may also decide to have multiple lock-up periods that end on different dates and allow different groups of people to sell their shares at different times.

How the IPO Lock-Up Period Works

Here’s an example of an IPO lock-up period: When one lock-up period ends company executives might be allowed to sell their shares, while a subsequent lock-up ending means regular employees can sell their shares.

What Does “Going Public” Mean?

When a company has an IPO, it is offering shares of the company for sale to the public stock market for the first time. The company is shifting at this point from a privately held company to a publicly traded company. This is the origin of the phrase “going public,” which you may have heard bandied around in reference to IPOs.

When a company is private, ownership is limited and can be tightly controlled. But when a company goes public, anyone can buy shares. But at this point there may be a lot of fingers in the pie already. Company founders, early employees, and even venture capitalists may already own shares or have stock options in the company.

Get in on the IPO action at IPO prices.

SoFi Active Investing members can participate in IPO(s) before they trade on an exchange.

What Is IPO Underwriting?

Before a company goes public it often goes through an underwriting process in which an underwriter — usually an investment bank — advises the IPO process and helps come up with the business’ valuation. The most common way they do this is by agreeing to buy a company’s entire inventory of stock.

Then to alleviate the risk of holding all of this stock, the underwriter will allocate shares of the company to institutional investors before the IPO.

The underwriter will try to drum up so much interest in the stock that more people will want it than there are shares available. This will lead to the stock being oversubscribed, which will hopefully support its price when it hits the market.

Recommended: What Sets IPO Valuations

How IPO Lock-ups Get Used

A company or its underwriters might use the lock-up period as another tool to bolster the share price during the IPO.

Shares held by the investment bank or institutional investors can be sold during an initial public offering, but the shares held by company insiders — including founders, executives, employees, and venture capitalists — may be subject to a lock-up period.

With Silicon Valley tech startups in particular, a greater proportion of compensation may be paid out with equity options or restricted trading units. In order to avoid flooding the market with shares when employees exercise these contracts, the lock-ups restrictions mean that these shareholders are not able to sell their stock until this period is over.

Recommended: Guide to Tech IPOs

What Is the Purpose of a Lock-up Period?

Ensuring Share-Price Stability

Insiders, like employees and angel investors, can potentially own far more shares in a company than are initially available to the general public. The last thing a company wants during an IPO is to have these extra shares flood the market.

Since share price is set by supply and demand, extra shares can drive down the price of the stock. And that’s not a good look, especially when a company is trying to impress investors and raise capital.

Avoiding Insider Trading

Company insiders may face other restrictions beyond the lock-up period. That’s because they might have information that can help them predict how their own stock might do that is not available to the general public.

Though insider trading can be legal if properly controlled and documented, it is not legal when based on information the public doesn’t have yet. So, depending on when a lock-up period ends, company insiders may have to wait extra time before selling their shares.

For example, if a company is about to report its earnings around the same time a lock-up period is set to end, insiders may have to wait for that information to be public before they can sell any shares.

Public Image

Finally, lock-up periods can be a way for companies to keep up appearances. When those closest to the company hold their shares, it can signal to investors that they have confidence in the strength of the company.

If company insiders start to dump their stock, investors may get suspicious and be tempted to sell their shares as well. As demand falls, the price of the stock usually does, too.

Even if the insiders were trying to cash in their stocks for no other reason than simply wanting the money, public perceptions may change and damage the company’s reputation. The lock-up period may have an effect by keeping this from happening — at least while the newly public company gets off its feet.

What’s an Example of a Lock-up Period?

For example, let’s say Business X — a unicorn company — went public with an IPO in March 2022. The company used a system of multiple lock-ups with different expiration dates. The first lock-up expired in July 2022, and allowed early investors and insiders to sell up to 400 million shares of the company.

As new shares hit the market the stock dropped by as much as 5%, and it closed the day down just over 1%. A second lock-up expired in August 2022, allowing regular employees to sell their pre-IPO shares in the company. When this lock-up ended, employees were allowed to sell more than 780 million shares of Business X on the open market.

What Does the Lock-up Period Mean for Employees with Stock Options?

Restrictions imposed during a lock-up period usually apply to any stock options someone has been given as an employee before an IPO. Stock options are essentially an agreement with a company that allows its employees to buy stock in the company at a predetermined price.

The thinking behind this type of compensation is that the company is trying to align employees’ incentives with its own. Theoretically, by giving employees stock options, the employees will have an interest in seeing the company do well and increase in value.

There’s usually a vesting period before employees can exercise their stock options, during which the value of the stock can increase. At the end of the vesting period, employees are able to exercise their options, sell the stock, and keep the profits.

It’s possible that the company will issue stock options before it goes public. If stock options vest before the IPO, employees may have to wait until after the lock-up period to exercise their options. However, stocks may not vest until after the lock-up period, in which case the restrictions don’t have much bearing on the employee’s ability to exercise their stock options.

How Does the IPO Lock-Up Period Affect Investors?

When buying IPO stocks as a regular investor, you likely don’t have access to shares of a company before it goes public. Even so, you still might want to pay attention to the lock-up period. Investing in IPOs can be tricky and are generally considered risky.

The underwriters will probably do everything they can to make sure that stock prices go up when company shares hit the market. But in the end, no one really knows what will happen during an IPO.

Reading the IPO Prospectus

What’s more, investors interested in buying a stock that’s about to go public don’t really have much information to go on to help them figure out what kind of value they’re getting. When they’re private, companies don’t have to divulge very much information about their inner workings to the SEC.

However, before going public they will make documents available, including the Form S-1 and the red herring prospectus that can give investors some clues about a company’s business model and what they plan to do with the money they raise. Investors can also look at what happened when similar companies went public and whether they did well.

Waiting to Buy Until After Lock-ups End

This is all to say that with little idea of what a company’s stock will do when the company goes public, regular investors may want to hold off before they invest. Investors may even want to hold off until the lock-up period is over.

When the lock-up ends and insiders and employees can finally sell their shares, the stock price may experience some volatility as the new shares enter the market, potentially causing drops in a stock’s price.

Some investors may try to take advantage of the dip that can occur when a lock-up period ends. For example, if investors see that a company’s financial health is good during the first stages of its public life, they may use the expiration of the lock-up period as a chance to buy shares at a “discount.”

They may feel that if the stock’s fundamentals were good before the lock-up ended, the company is in good financial health and the stock should rebound. Timing the market, however, isn’t necessarily a good idea for all investors, especially those not used to taking a deep dive into the fundamentals of a company’s financials. It’s also not guaranteed to produce good results.

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The Takeaway

Lock-up periods are agreed-upon periods between early investors and employees of a company and underwriting investment bankers during which selling of shares is prohibited. Having such stakeholders hold off on selling their shares can help the stock price of a newly public company stay more stable.

An initial public offering’s lock-up period can be hard to navigate. Yet, they can be really exciting for investors looking to get in on the ground floor and employees or insiders looking to cash in on their shares or stock options.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an Active Invest account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

For a limited time, opening and funding an account gives you the opportunity to win up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.

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Investing in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss. Further, there are a variety of risk factors to consider when investing in an IPO, including but not limited to, unproven management, significant debt, and lack of operating history. For a comprehensive discussion of these risks please refer to SoFi Securities’ IPO Risk Disclosure Statement. IPOs offered through SoFi Securities are not a recommendation and investors should carefully read the offering prospectus to determine whether an offering is consistent with their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial situation.

New offerings generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available for distribution to participants. Many customers may not be allocated shares and share allocations may be significantly smaller than the shares requested in the customer’s initial offer (Indication of Interest). For SoFi’s allocation procedures please refer to IPO Allocation Procedures.
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Source: sofi.com

Apache is functioning normally

Households including at least one person with a high school diploma or GED can afford the typical mortgage payment in most large metro areas across the U.S., according to a new analysis by Zillow.

But soaring home values that have outpaced incomes have made down payments a barrier for many, particularly first-time home buyers.

Mortgage rates have dipped to multi-year lows in recent months, meaning monthly payments are relatively affordable for buyers who can secure a down payment. However, down payments are a challenge to afford for many as prices have grown faster than incomes over the past several years. An earlier Zillow study found that buyers need 1.5 years longer to save for a 20% down payment on the typical home than 30 years prior, and the difference is much more extreme in the most expensive metros – 13.3 years longer in San Jose, for example.

This effect is especially pronounced for first-time buyers who do not have the equity of an existing home to put towards a down payment on a new one. Zillow data shows that 46% of a typical down payment comes from savings for first-time buyers, compared with 35% for repeat buyersii.

“The influx of highly educated workers into already-expensive metros with stagnant or slow-growing inventory has made it difficult for those with less education and earning potential to enter those markets,” said Skylar Olsen, director of economic research at Zillow. “There can also be considerable variation within metros. While a bachelor’s degree may be enough to afford a mortgage on the typical home in the San Diego metro at large, it’s likely to be insufficient in pricey areas like La Jolla. And that’s only after scraping together a sizable down payment, which is a huge hurdle for most buyers.”

For households that secure a down payment, the median mortgage payments are affordable for those with a high school education in 36 of the 50 largest U.S. metros. The remaining 14 metros require earnings associated with at least a two-year associate’s degree.

The median income of a university degree holder is necessary to afford the median mortgage payment in the five most expensive West Coast metros. A bachelor’s degree is typically needed in San Diego and Seattle, while the typical income of someone with an advanced degree is required in San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The typical mortgage payment is affordable for those with associate’s degrees in Boston, New York, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., Denver, Portland, Riverside, Salt Lake City and Miami.

In only one metro, Oklahoma City, can those with less than a high school degree usually afford the typical mortgage payment. Households in Oklahoma City benefit from a combination of low housing costs – only three of the 50 largest metros have a lower median mortgage payment – and relatively high median incomes for households in which nobody has a high school diploma.

Median rent was 27.8% of the typical U.S. household income in Q1 2019. This is up slightly from the previous quarter and just below levels from a year earlier. Rent was most affordable for those in Pittsburgh, where the median rent is 21.4% of the typical household income. Los Angeles is the least affordable large metro for renters – 46.1% of the typical income is required to pay the median rent there.

Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected]
Latest posts by Mike Wheatley (see all)

Source: realtybiznews.com

Apache is functioning normally

CFO, Compliance, Cap Mkts; POS, AI, REO, 2nd Lien, Verification Products; Housing Stats

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CFO, Compliance, Cap Mkts; POS, AI, REO, 2nd Lien, Verification Products; Housing Stats

By:
Rob Chrisman

43 Min, 0 Sec ago

Think mortgage math is complicated? Many in the nation are focused on air conditioning. Why is it measured in tons? It harkens back to the days of using ice, and a “ton” measures how much heat, removed by the system, would be needed to melt 2,000 pounds, or one ton, of ice in a 24-hour period. The result is then expressed in BTUs per hour. It takes 288,000 BTUs to melt a ton of ice in 24 hours, or 12,000 BTUs per hour. 1 BTU/hr. = 0.00029307107 kWh. And the average residential electricity rate in the U.S. is about 23 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). When you see your utility bill in the mail, don’t think about me. Maybe the math in a company acquisition is more straightforward. I mention this since ICE and Black Knight have agreed to sell Optimal Blue to Constellation Software in an effort to get regulatory approval for their merger. Constellation Software is already buying Empower and will purchase OB for $700 million paid for in $200 MM cash and a $500MM promissory note. Meanwhile, plenty of branch-level acquisitions are occurring that don’t make the headlines and will continue. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services to the mortgage industry for almost four decades. To experience how Richey May can help you transform your mortgage business, visit richeymay.com. Hear an interview with Seth Sprague and James Brody on the wave of loan-repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that represents another threat to lenders’ balance sheets.)

Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products

With first mortgage rates rising and inventory dropping to record lows, many lenders are looking to turn up the volume on their HELOC business. Many of these lenders have begun aggressively advertising these solutions, many even announcing “HELOC Promos” on billboards, marques, and in digital advertising. In other words, the HELOC market is starting to heat up, and your competitors are beginning to make a big grab for this business. Don’t let them get to your borrowers before you do! With Symmetry, you can offer your borrowers one of the best, most competitively priced HELOC options on the market. Let Symmetry help you present this solution to your borrowers before they go somewhere else. Contact your Area Manager today!

Verus Mortgage Capital recently launched a Closed End Second Lien Mortgage program to help lenders capitalize on the more than $18 trillion of tappable home equity in the U.S. Verus’ new program is the perfect solution for borrowers who don’t want to refinance their home but want to take advantage of the equity they’ve amassed. In this competitive environment, non-QM can be a new revenue channel for originators, one that enables you to meet the needs of borrowers who need more flexibility, people with nontraditional income, those who are investing in properties, foreign nationals or borrowers seeking an interest-only payment option. Interested in serving more applicants with non-QM? Meet with Verus at the Western Secondary Market Conference Aug. 21-23 to learn more. Contact Jeff Schaefer, EVP – National Sales at 202-534-1821.

The Work Number® can help streamline processes and provide greater value to income and employment verification processes. Wider data coverage can help streamline lending processes, and the standard Mortgage VOE and Mortgage VOI solutions from The Work Number are now available with the option for a receipt. The Work Number is the largest commercial repository for consolidated income and employment data with access to 618 million INSTANTLY returned records, updated each pay cycle, provided directly by employers and payroll providers. Lenders and brokers have a choice: access The Work Number directly from Equifax OR through our pre-built integrations with over 60 Point of Sale (POS) and Loan Origination Systems (LOS). Gathering all of the necessary information about potential borrowers through your LOS or POS is quick and efficient and can eliminate the need to swivel back and forth between systems, juggling multiple logins.

BSI Financial Services extends Sagent partnership for seven years! Sagent is thrilled to announce the recent expansion of its partnership with BSI Financial Services (BSI) for another 7 years. As BSI looks to grow its servicing operation to 1M loans, Sagent will continue to power BSI with its configurable, cloud-based platforms including LoanServ, TEMPO, Datascape+, and LoanBoard. BSI’s great reputation and growth is because they’ve mastered things like automating complex tasks, solving customer issues fast, and adapting in real-time to regulator and investor needs. Sagent takes this crucial role in helping BSI very seriously, and they are excited to continue building with the BSI team! Read Sagent/BSI partnership details here.

“According to ATTOM, foreclosure filings were up 7% in May and 14% from a year ago. Managing an REO portfolio requires a strategic and systematic approach to ensure effective management and maximize returns. The team at Consolidated Analytics delivers one of the most comprehensive asset management solutions to streamline your REO process and satisfy the most stringent investor and client requirements combining a seasoned team, advanced tech and management platforms, and access to a nationwide network of REO professionals. Our team delivers from post-foreclosure through marketing and final disposition with proven strategies to streamline the asset management process, meet SLAs, accelerate turn times, and maximize returns. Contact [email protected] to help make more informed decisions and achieve portfolio management goals.”

There are so many things we’d rather put off in life: stumbling to the gym at 5 a.m., eating our broccoli, preparing tax returns. But avoiding pain in the present doesn’t set us up well for the future. It’s the same for lenders looking to make a strong rebound when today’s cold originations market starts heating up again. Black Knight held discovery sessions with dozens of banks, credit unions and independent mortgage bankers who all agreed: the time to invest in your mortgage technology is now. Click here to read why competitive lenders will likely be the ones who seize this market moment and prepare themselves now to be ready for the future, even though it might be uncomfortable in the short term. Then contact Black Knight when you’re ready to see how you can be prepared for whatever the market throws at you next.

Podcast Alert! Tune into HousingWire’s Housing News podcast featuring Wolters Kluwer’s VP of Banking Compliance Solutions Simon Moir and HousingWire’s Clayton Collins. With more than 20 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry, Simon shares valuable insights on the relationship between AI and regulatory powers, and the changing dynamics in the fintech world and investor strategies. Don’t miss this key conversation exploring the future of technology, regulations, and finance. Tune in now for valuable industry perspectives.

When Premium Mortgage Corporation set out to replace its Point-of-Sale system, Premium chose LiteSpeed by LenderLogix. Amazing borrower experience. Immediate ROI. Seamless integration into Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology™. The best part, the results speak for themselves: Check out its experience here.

Capital Markets

The secondary markets are incredibly complicated, especially what happens “behind the scenes.”

Don’t forget that MISMO, the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, announced that the Private Label Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (PL RMBS) Specification has reached “Candidate Recommendation” status, which means that it has been thoroughly reviewed by a wide range of organizations and industry participants and is available for use across the industry and should lead to a more efficient process for private label residential mortgage-backed securities. The MISMO PL RMBS Specification provides a standard and defined set of data that can be used by the rating agencies to help determine the ratings applied to securitizations. The tools are designed for parties that support the submission of the current ASF and supplemental mapping specifications to the rating agencies. They will provide lenders, rating agencies, third-party reviewers, and technology solution providers with the necessary information to update their systems with the revised data from the MISMO PL RMBS or flat file layout.

And while you’re not forgetting, last month Ginnie Mae announced, in All Participants Memorandum (APM 23-09), that it is extending the use of electronic signatures in conjunction with Remote Online Notarization (RON) to include power of attorney (POA) mortgage documents. All Ginnie Mae Issuers can now use RON to execute POA documents when necessary to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans on “paper” mortgages.

By extending digital capabilities to include POA mortgage documents, Ginnie Mae is modernizing its Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) program with flexibility that benefits our Issuers and borrowers. Issuers must continue to follow all insuring or guarantying agency guidance regarding POA eligibility and requirements, including the circumstances under which a borrower is permitted to use an attorney-in-fact to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans. By using RON for POA, Issuers are subject to the electronic signature and notarization requirements outlined in chapter 24 of the MBS Guide. Please refer to APM 23-09 for more information regarding the requirements.

In bond market activity, which changes every day, bets are growing that central banks are winning their battle against inflation without driving economies into deep recessions. Goldman Sachs lowered its probability of a U.S. recession over the next 12 months to 20 percent from 25 percent yesterday, and ECB Governing Council member Knot suggested that additional rate hikes after next week are uncertain. Investors also received a weaker than expected Retail Sales report for June (actual 0.2 percent, expected 0.5 percent), with gasoline a big driver of the decline. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, and on a year-over-year basis, sales rose 1.5 percent. We’ve also received better-than-expected Q2 earnings from big banks such as JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Manufacturing took a step back in June, though Treasuries and MBS prices showed no significant response to that below-consensus June Industrial Production report (actual -0.5 percent, expected flat).

“Risk-on” sentiment has taken hold over the last couple of weeks, meaning investors are favoring stocks following softer-than-anticipated consumer and producer price data in June that has optimism abounding over inflation continuing to soften and the economy avoiding a recession. CPI dropped precipitously to a 3.0 percent annualized rate in June from 4.1 percent in May. Producer price increases are also slowing with core PPI up 2.6 percent from one year ago. Core CPI remains at a still robust annualized pace of 4.8 percent, albeit down from 5.3 percent in the previous reading. Yes, inflation is still above the target of 2 percent, but bets are that the 25-basis point rate hike on July 26 that lifts interest rates to a 22-year high will be the last as the Fed reaches a terminal target rate of 5.50 percent. Then begins the waiting game, as the tight U.S. labor market is key for long-run inflation considerations.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications from MBA. Including an adjustment for Independence Day, Mortgage applications increased 1.1 percent from one week earlier, which was not entirely unexpected following last week’s Treasury rally after both CPI and PPI came in softer than expected. During the reporting period, the 10-year yield fell more than 20 basis points, with the 30-year mortgage rate tumbling even more (25 basis points, to 6.89 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily).

We’ve also received housing starts (-8.0 percent at 1.434 million) and building permits for June (-3.7 percent to 1.44 million). Expectations were for 1.455 million starts and 1.525 million permits versus 1.631 million and 1.496 million previously. Later today brings a Treasury auction of $12 billion reopened 20-year bonds. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices about .125-.250 better than Tuesday evening, the 10-year yielding 3.73 after closing yesterday at 3.79 percent, and the 2-year at 4.70.

Employment

While most people are struggling in this market, there are still some lenders growing and adding to their leadership team! A national IMB located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is looking to add a Chief Financial Officer, a Head of Capital Markets, and a Chief Compliance Officer with Ginnie Mae/Agency securitization experience to its team. Must have direct experience working in a securitization heavy environment. NonQM is a plus. If you are interested, please email Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt to forward your confidential note/resume.

“Job boards and careers pages can produce applicants, but are they quality candidates? Our team at Pezian Search Group are Talent Experts within the Mortgage, Banking, Credit Union, Title & Escrow and Financial Services spaces from the C-Suite to the Call Center, Front Office, Bank Office, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and everything in between. That means that we understand the industry and take the time to properly discuss important items with candidates such as backgrounds, skill sets, experience, growth objects and more. This ensures that there is a long-term fit and that we are providing our nationwide network of Clients quality candidates every time. We’ve set ourselves apart from our competition, career pages and the traditional job boards, all while offering a full satisfaction guarantee. To learn more, email our team, follow us on LinkedIn, and review the opportunities that we currently have available throughout the country.”

“Micah Parsons, linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys and the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, recently signed a two-year partnership with SWBC to join us as a spokesperson and brand ambassador. He is a natural fit for SWBC, as his commitment to excellence and drive to make a difference within the community align with our goal of inspiring hope where we live and lend. Micah is an exceptionally talented individual, and we’re excited to work with him to help hopeful buyers tackle their homeownership goals. SWBC Mortgage has big goals and is looking for those who can help us reach them. We combine innovation with personal interaction, empowering our loan officers to serve the communities where they live and lend. Contact us to learn more about how our unique setup helps maintain LO compensation and pricing. Contact James Clark, Director of Strategic Growth or visit us here.

 Download our mobile app to get alerts for Rob Chrisman’s Commentary.

Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com

Apache is functioning normally

CFO, Compliance, Cap Mkts; POS, AI, REO, 2nd Lien, Verification Products; Housing Stats

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and Android app.
Download the NEW APP”>


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CFO, Compliance, Cap Mkts; POS, AI, REO, 2nd Lien, Verification Products; Housing Stats

By:
Rob Chrisman

42 Min, 31 Secs ago

Think mortgage math is complicated? Many in the nation are focused on air conditioning. Why is it measured in tons? It harkens back to the days of using ice, and a “ton” measures how much heat, removed by the system, would be needed to melt 2,000 pounds, or one ton, of ice in a 24-hour period. The result is then expressed in BTUs per hour. It takes 288,000 BTUs to melt a ton of ice in 24 hours, or 12,000 BTUs per hour. 1 BTU/hr. = 0.00029307107 kWh. And the average residential electricity rate in the U.S. is about 23 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). When you see your utility bill in the mail, don’t think about me. Maybe the math in a company acquisition is more straightforward. I mention this since ICE and Black Knight have agreed to sell Optimal Blue to Constellation Software in an effort to get regulatory approval for their merger. Constellation Software is already buying Empower and will purchase OB for $700 million paid for in $200 MM cash and a $500MM promissory note. Meanwhile, plenty of branch-level acquisitions are occurring that don’t make the headlines and will continue. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services to the mortgage industry for almost four decades. To experience how Richey May can help you transform your mortgage business, visit richeymay.com. Hear an interview with Seth Sprague and James Brody on the wave of loan-repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that represents another threat to lenders’ balance sheets.)

Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products

With first mortgage rates rising and inventory dropping to record lows, many lenders are looking to turn up the volume on their HELOC business. Many of these lenders have begun aggressively advertising these solutions, many even announcing “HELOC Promos” on billboards, marques, and in digital advertising. In other words, the HELOC market is starting to heat up, and your competitors are beginning to make a big grab for this business. Don’t let them get to your borrowers before you do! With Symmetry, you can offer your borrowers one of the best, most competitively priced HELOC options on the market. Let Symmetry help you present this solution to your borrowers before they go somewhere else. Contact your Area Manager today!

Verus Mortgage Capital recently launched a Closed End Second Lien Mortgage program to help lenders capitalize on the more than $18 trillion of tappable home equity in the U.S. Verus’ new program is the perfect solution for borrowers who don’t want to refinance their home but want to take advantage of the equity they’ve amassed. In this competitive environment, non-QM can be a new revenue channel for originators, one that enables you to meet the needs of borrowers who need more flexibility, people with nontraditional income, those who are investing in properties, foreign nationals or borrowers seeking an interest-only payment option. Interested in serving more applicants with non-QM? Meet with Verus at the Western Secondary Market Conference Aug. 21-23 to learn more. Contact Jeff Schaefer, EVP – National Sales at 202-534-1821.

The Work Number® can help streamline processes and provide greater value to income and employment verification processes. Wider data coverage can help streamline lending processes, and the standard Mortgage VOE and Mortgage VOI solutions from The Work Number are now available with the option for a receipt. The Work Number is the largest commercial repository for consolidated income and employment data with access to 618 million INSTANTLY returned records, updated each pay cycle, provided directly by employers and payroll providers. Lenders and brokers have a choice: access The Work Number directly from Equifax OR through our pre-built integrations with over 60 Point of Sale (POS) and Loan Origination Systems (LOS). Gathering all of the necessary information about potential borrowers through your LOS or POS is quick and efficient and can eliminate the need to swivel back and forth between systems, juggling multiple logins.

BSI Financial Services extends Sagent partnership for seven years! Sagent is thrilled to announce the recent expansion of its partnership with BSI Financial Services (BSI) for another 7 years. As BSI looks to grow its servicing operation to 1M loans, Sagent will continue to power BSI with its configurable, cloud-based platforms including LoanServ, TEMPO, Datascape+, and LoanBoard. BSI’s great reputation and growth is because they’ve mastered things like automating complex tasks, solving customer issues fast, and adapting in real-time to regulator and investor needs. Sagent takes this crucial role in helping BSI very seriously, and they are excited to continue building with the BSI team! Read Sagent/BSI partnership details here.

“According to ATTOM, foreclosure filings were up 7% in May and 14% from a year ago. Managing an REO portfolio requires a strategic and systematic approach to ensure effective management and maximize returns. The team at Consolidated Analytics delivers one of the most comprehensive asset management solutions to streamline your REO process and satisfy the most stringent investor and client requirements combining a seasoned team, advanced tech and management platforms, and access to a nationwide network of REO professionals. Our team delivers from post-foreclosure through marketing and final disposition with proven strategies to streamline the asset management process, meet SLAs, accelerate turn times, and maximize returns. Contact [email protected] to help make more informed decisions and achieve portfolio management goals.”

There are so many things we’d rather put off in life: stumbling to the gym at 5 a.m., eating our broccoli, preparing tax returns. But avoiding pain in the present doesn’t set us up well for the future. It’s the same for lenders looking to make a strong rebound when today’s cold originations market starts heating up again. Black Knight held discovery sessions with dozens of banks, credit unions and independent mortgage bankers who all agreed: the time to invest in your mortgage technology is now. Click here to read why competitive lenders will likely be the ones who seize this market moment and prepare themselves now to be ready for the future, even though it might be uncomfortable in the short term. Then contact Black Knight when you’re ready to see how you can be prepared for whatever the market throws at you next.

Podcast Alert! Tune into HousingWire’s Housing News podcast featuring Wolters Kluwer’s VP of Banking Compliance Solutions Simon Moir and HousingWire’s Clayton Collins. With more than 20 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry, Simon shares valuable insights on the relationship between AI and regulatory powers, and the changing dynamics in the fintech world and investor strategies. Don’t miss this key conversation exploring the future of technology, regulations, and finance. Tune in now for valuable industry perspectives.

When Premium Mortgage Corporation set out to replace its Point-of-Sale system, Premium chose LiteSpeed by LenderLogix. Amazing borrower experience. Immediate ROI. Seamless integration into Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology™. The best part, the results speak for themselves: Check out its experience here.

Capital Markets

The secondary markets are incredibly complicated, especially what happens “behind the scenes.”

Don’t forget that MISMO, the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, announced that the Private Label Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (PL RMBS) Specification has reached “Candidate Recommendation” status, which means that it has been thoroughly reviewed by a wide range of organizations and industry participants and is available for use across the industry and should lead to a more efficient process for private label residential mortgage-backed securities. The MISMO PL RMBS Specification provides a standard and defined set of data that can be used by the rating agencies to help determine the ratings applied to securitizations. The tools are designed for parties that support the submission of the current ASF and supplemental mapping specifications to the rating agencies. They will provide lenders, rating agencies, third-party reviewers, and technology solution providers with the necessary information to update their systems with the revised data from the MISMO PL RMBS or flat file layout.

And while you’re not forgetting, last month Ginnie Mae announced, in All Participants Memorandum (APM 23-09), that it is extending the use of electronic signatures in conjunction with Remote Online Notarization (RON) to include power of attorney (POA) mortgage documents. All Ginnie Mae Issuers can now use RON to execute POA documents when necessary to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans on “paper” mortgages.

By extending digital capabilities to include POA mortgage documents, Ginnie Mae is modernizing its Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) program with flexibility that benefits our Issuers and borrowers. Issuers must continue to follow all insuring or guarantying agency guidance regarding POA eligibility and requirements, including the circumstances under which a borrower is permitted to use an attorney-in-fact to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans. By using RON for POA, Issuers are subject to the electronic signature and notarization requirements outlined in chapter 24 of the MBS Guide. Please refer to APM 23-09 for more information regarding the requirements.

In bond market activity, which changes every day, bets are growing that central banks are winning their battle against inflation without driving economies into deep recessions. Goldman Sachs lowered its probability of a U.S. recession over the next 12 months to 20 percent from 25 percent yesterday, and ECB Governing Council member Knot suggested that additional rate hikes after next week are uncertain. Investors also received a weaker than expected Retail Sales report for June (actual 0.2 percent, expected 0.5 percent), with gasoline a big driver of the decline. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, and on a year-over-year basis, sales rose 1.5 percent. We’ve also received better-than-expected Q2 earnings from big banks such as JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Manufacturing took a step back in June, though Treasuries and MBS prices showed no significant response to that below-consensus June Industrial Production report (actual -0.5 percent, expected flat).

“Risk-on” sentiment has taken hold over the last couple of weeks, meaning investors are favoring stocks following softer-than-anticipated consumer and producer price data in June that has optimism abounding over inflation continuing to soften and the economy avoiding a recession. CPI dropped precipitously to a 3.0 percent annualized rate in June from 4.1 percent in May. Producer price increases are also slowing with core PPI up 2.6 percent from one year ago. Core CPI remains at a still robust annualized pace of 4.8 percent, albeit down from 5.3 percent in the previous reading. Yes, inflation is still above the target of 2 percent, but bets are that the 25-basis point rate hike on July 26 that lifts interest rates to a 22-year high will be the last as the Fed reaches a terminal target rate of 5.50 percent. Then begins the waiting game, as the tight U.S. labor market is key for long-run inflation considerations.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications from MBA. Including an adjustment for Independence Day, Mortgage applications increased 1.1 percent from one week earlier, which was not entirely unexpected following last week’s Treasury rally after both CPI and PPI came in softer than expected. During the reporting period, the 10-year yield fell more than 20 basis points, with the 30-year mortgage rate tumbling even more (25 basis points, to 6.89 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily).

We’ve also received housing starts (-8.0 percent at 1.434 million) and building permits for June (-3.7 percent to 1.44 million). Expectations were for 1.455 million starts and 1.525 million permits versus 1.631 million and 1.496 million previously. Later today brings a Treasury auction of $12 billion reopened 20-year bonds. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices about .125-.250 better than Tuesday evening, the 10-year yielding 3.73 after closing yesterday at 3.79 percent, and the 2-year at 4.70.

Employment

While most people are struggling in this market, there are still some lenders growing and adding to their leadership team! A national IMB located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is looking to add a Chief Financial Officer, a Head of Capital Markets, and a Chief Compliance Officer with Ginnie Mae/Agency securitization experience to its team. Must have direct experience working in a securitization heavy environment. NonQM is a plus. If you are interested, please email Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt to forward your confidential note/resume.

“Job boards and careers pages can produce applicants, but are they quality candidates? Our team at Pezian Search Group are Talent Experts within the Mortgage, Banking, Credit Union, Title & Escrow and Financial Services spaces from the C-Suite to the Call Center, Front Office, Bank Office, Operations, Sales, Marketing, and everything in between. That means that we understand the industry and take the time to properly discuss important items with candidates such as backgrounds, skill sets, experience, growth objects and more. This ensures that there is a long-term fit and that we are providing our nationwide network of Clients quality candidates every time. We’ve set ourselves apart from our competition, career pages and the traditional job boards, all while offering a full satisfaction guarantee. To learn more, email our team, follow us on LinkedIn, and review the opportunities that we currently have available throughout the country.”

“Micah Parsons, linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys and the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, recently signed a two-year partnership with SWBC to join us as a spokesperson and brand ambassador. He is a natural fit for SWBC, as his commitment to excellence and drive to make a difference within the community align with our goal of inspiring hope where we live and lend. Micah is an exceptionally talented individual, and we’re excited to work with him to help hopeful buyers tackle their homeownership goals. SWBC Mortgage has big goals and is looking for those who can help us reach them. We combine innovation with personal interaction, empowering our loan officers to serve the communities where they live and lend. Contact us to learn more about how our unique setup helps maintain LO compensation and pricing. Contact James Clark, Director of Strategic Growth or visit us here.

 Download our mobile app to get alerts for Rob Chrisman’s Commentary.

Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com

Apache is functioning normally

Whether you’re thinking of renting a beach home or planning a multifaceted trip requiring a flight, hotel stay and car rental, you now have an opportunity to earn rewards, receive discounts and reach elite status through a new loyalty program.

Expedia Group brands including online travel agencies Hotels.com, Expedia and vacation rental site Vrbo are joining forces for a program called One Key.

One Key has replaced the existing travel rewards programs used by Hotels.com and Expedia. The inclusion of Vrbo makes it the first loyalty program among major vacation rental sites as well.

Note that there are some limitations around booking through an online travel agency, and previous Hotels.com Rewards loyalists may find earning a free night is more difficult under the new program.

However, for some travelers, One Key will provide an avenue to earn rewards for almost every element of their trip, from flights to hotels to vacation rentals to experiences.

Here are some things to know about the One Key program.

How the One Key loyalty program works

The One Key program combines the booking possibilities from three sites into a lot of earning potential. It’s probably most beneficial for the more infrequent travelers who may not stay or fly enough with one brand to earn perks but could use rewards on all of their travel spending combined.

In other words, it doesn’t matter which of the three sites you’re using. Loyalty currency you earn and elite status progress you make will all count toward a single program.

Like with most loyalty programs, One Key is free to join.

How to earn rewards on Vrbo, Hotels.com and Expedia

The One Key program will use a new loyalty currency: OneKeyCash. Members will be able to earn through:

  • Eligible stays on Hotels.com.

  • Eligible rentals on Vrbo.

  • Eligible flights, hotels, rental cars or activities on Expedia.

Members will receive 2% in OneKeyCash for every dollar spent on eligible hotels, vacation rentals, activities, packages, car rentals and cruises and 0.2% in OneKeyCash for every dollar spent on eligible flights. That means if you spent $100 for a hotel night, you’d earn $2 worth of OneKeyCash.

🤓Nerdy Tip

You can double dip and earn more rewards by using a travel credit card to pay for your booking and adding your frequent flyer account number to any flight reservations.

The earnings rates get higher for certain hotel reservations as members earn elite status in the One Key program.

In a nice benefit for families, whichever member makes the booking earns the rewards for their whole traveling party. So, a parent reserving flights and a hotel for the whole family would earn all of the OneKeyCash for the trip.

Can you transfer OneKeyCash?

You won’t be able to transfer OneKeyCash to another member’s account. However, you will be able to book travel for another member. So, if you have OneKeyCash in your account and no plans to use it, you can book a trip for a family member or friend with your rewards.

Redeeming OneKeyCash

OneKeyCash is equal to $1. For most bookings where you pay upfront, you’ll be able to apply the OneKeyCash you’ve earned toward the cost. For example, if you had $20 worth of OneKeyCash, you could apply it to your next hotel booking on Hotels.com for a $20 discount off the total price.

There is one key exception: For flights booked with OneKeyCash, you’ll need to have enough in your account to cover the entire booking.

OneKeyCash can be used on booking participating rentals in U.S. dollars.

Earning elite status through One Key

The earnings, discounts and perks improve as you earn status in the One Key program. And because the loyalty program encompasses flights, hotels, rental cars and more, it is possible to earn elite status in just one trip.

Trip elements

Many major loyalty programs are built around revenue-based models for elite status, but One Key uses what it calls “trip elements.”

A trip element includes any of the following:

  • One air ticket.

  • One room night.

  • One vacation rental night.

  • One night on a cruise.

  • One day’s car rental.

  • One round-trip ground transportation ticket — like a taxi, shuttle, etc.

  • One activity ticket.

Trip elements must be worth $25 or more (not including taxes or fees) to count.

How to earn One Key elite status

Members reach elite status levels by accumulating trip elements. Here’s what it takes to qualify for each tier:

One Key status tier

Requirements to earn

One Key Blue

No benchmark; entry level.

One Key Silver

Five trip elements within a year.

One Key Gold

15 trip elements within a year.

One Key Platinum

30 trip elements within a year.

You can see how it’s possible to quickly reach status levels. Let’s say a member books the following as part of a trip:

  • A flight for a family of four (on Expedia) = 4 trip elements.

  • A seven-day car rental (on Expedia) = 7 trip elements.

  • A seven-night rental property stay (on Vrbo) = 7 trip elements.

  • Two activities during the week (on Expedia) = 2 trip elements.

This fairly ordinary vacation booking totals 20 trip elements, enough for the One Key member to reach Gold status and be two-thirds of the way to Platinum.

For any of these trip elements to count and to earn status and loyalty currency, the member will need to book while logged-in to their One Key account.

One Key elite status

Clearly, earning elite status in the One Key program is easy. But what does it get you?

Members who join the One Key program (known as Blue members from the outset) enjoy some limited benefits like discounts on some hotel stays and free price tracking. The latter is a great tool for finding the best deal.

Like with any tiered loyalty program, as you work your way up the ladder, you’ll retain the lower-tier benefits but accumulate new perks along the way.

Here are the perks for One Key’s elite status tiers:

Elite status tier

Trip elements required

Perks (accumulated by tier)

One Key Blue

None; entry-level status.

  • Earn OneKeyCash on eligible bookings.

  • Free price tracking.

  • 10% member discounts on eligible properties.

One Key Silver

Five trip elements.

  • 15% member discounts on eligible properties.

  • 50% extra OneKeyCash on stays at VIP Access properties booked on Expedia or Hotels.com.

  • Priority traveler support.

One Key Gold

15 trip elements.

  • 20% member discounts on eligible properties.

  • 100% extra OneKeyCash on stays at VIP Access properties booked through Expedia or Hotels.com.

  • Extra perks at VIP Access properties like food and beverage discounts, late checkouts, early check-ins and room upgrades (when available).

  • Free price drop protection on eligible flight bookings made on the Expedia app.

One Key Platinum

30 trip elements.

  • 200% extra OneKeyCash on stays at VIP Access properties booked through Expedia or Hotels.com.

  • Platinum VIP support.

  • One-time Expedia launch discount of 10% (good for up to $100 in savings).

Some of the most notable benefits of elite status are the perks at VIP Access properties, which are a collection of hotels that “consistently receive the highest guest reviews on Expedia Group and meet stringent standards of quality.” For flights, the price drop protection is a great way to ensure you’re getting the lowest price. If your fare drops in price, you’ll get the difference refunded to your account in the form of OneKeyCash.

Is it worth using the One Key program?

Though booking through an online travel agency or using the One Key loyalty program may not make sense for most avid travelers, it can certainly be helpful for others.

Here are a few of the benefits to consider.

Search a full range of options when booking

One of the compelling reasons to use an online travel agency like Expedia or Hotels.com is that it searches a wide range of brands. This can be helpful in finding the cheapest prices and, in some cases, alternative options like a small, family-run, boutique hotel off the beaten path.

Bundling your bookings

Another benefit of using a site like Expedia to book your trip is that it can help you keep all the details of your trip organized in one location, including the hotel stay, flight reservation and car rental. Sometimes, bundling can help you tap in to discounts, too.

Earn rewards for Vrbo stays

Even the most avid points, miles and travel enthusiasts will want to take advantage of Vrbo’s participation in the One Key program. Previously, there was no true way to earn rewards for stays at a Vrbo property (such as a beach house).

By logging-in to your One Key account when booking your Vrbo reservation, you’ll be able to earn OneKeyCash, which you could use for a future flight, hotel stay, rental car, activity or rental property.

Great for infrequent travelers hoping to earn perks

Though online travel agencies often don’t make sense for frequent travelers who are pursuing elite status and points or miles with airline and hotel loyalty programs, the One Key program can be a great way for less frequent (or less loyal) travelers to get some return on their investment.

Don’t have any hope of reaching elite status with the likes of Hilton or Marriott but planning a trip or two for the family with a car rental, Vrbo stay and maybe even a flight?

A weeklong Vrbo stay with an accompanying car rental and flight is enough to earn you Gold status. This alone could help you potentially enjoy a room upgrade and perhaps a food and beverage credit at your next hotel stay, when available (provided it’s at one of the program’s VIP Access hotels).

Earn for one thing, use for another

Likely the most notable benefit of the One Key program is that you can earn loyalty currency for one booking activity and use the rewards on another.

Booking a rental car will help you earn OneKeyCash and make progress toward elite status you can redeem or enjoy during a hotel stay. Booking a flight could help offset the cost of a future Vrbo stay. And so on.

The interconnectivity of the program across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo’s platforms makes it possible to earn and redeem in a variety of ways.

Drawbacks of One Key

Though there are some enticing reasons to use the One Key program, there are some clear drawbacks — when it comes to the program itself and to online travel agencies more broadly.

Earning free nights harder than with Hotels.com Rewards

For travelers who have used the Hotels.com Rewards program through the years, the earning and redeeming setup of the One Key program may well come as a disappointment.

With Hotels.com’s previous program, you earned a free night by collecting “stamps” — one stamp for each night stayed, and 10 stamps got you a free night. The free night was worth the average of the rate of the 10 nights you stayed. So, if you stayed five nights at a rate of $50 and five nights at a rate of $100 (a total of $750 in spending), your free night would be worth $75 — a 10% return on your investment.

Under One Key, you get 2% OneKeyCash for every dollar spent at hotels and Vrbo properties — a significantly lower rate of return.

Harder to earn and use other hotel loyalty program benefits

Oftentimes when you use an online travel agency, you’re not able to earn points or enjoy elite status perks with a separate hotel loyalty program.

So, if you’re a frequent traveler who has reached (or is pursuing) elite status with a major hotel chain, note that you may not earn any points or elite qualifying credit for the stay with the hotel’s loyalty program. For this reason, avid travelers may be better off booking direct.

It is worth noting, though, that when it comes to booking flights, you will earn both airline miles and OneKeyCash.

Reservation changes can be more complicated

For instance, airline customer service representatives frequently have more limited ability to change a ticket booked through an online travel agency. While all of these booking sites do offer their own customer service representatives and, indeed, enhanced customer support for the higher-level elite status members, having a “go-between” can often be a headache.

Elite status perks limited to certain reservations

Another noticeable weakness of the One Key loyalty program is that some of the elite status perks are confined to certain types of reservations.

Sure, you can earn and redeem OneKeyCash (and earn elite status) for a hotel stay, a flight, a rental car reservation, a cruise or an activity.

However, to fully enjoy the program’s complement of elite status benefits like property credits and upgrades, you’ll need to book a hotel through Hotels.com and Expedia — and not just any hotel; it’ll need to be one of the VIP Access properties.

Recap of the One Key program

The new program is unlikely to be a groundbreaking option for the most experienced travelers. And Hotels.com Rewards loyalists may find the path to a free night a bit trickier.

But it does make it possible to earn rewards on one site and redeem on another — particularly for those who frequently rent vacation homes with Vrbo. And it figures to give even more infrequent travelers a path to elite status.

Regardless of whether you’re booking with Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo, be sure to use a travel credit card that offers bonus earnings categories for general travel purchases, which will allow you to rack up credit card rewards on top of your earnings in the One Key program.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2023, including those best for:

Source: nerdwallet.com