Phil Grossfield's Blog

Clues #3 & #4 to Mystery Anniversary.  My wife, The Travel Mama, is taking me to a mystery location with a mystery agenda for our 12th wedding anniversary. We leave later this afternoon and I have no idea where we’re going…still…but I’m getting closer. Clue #1 is “we are going by airplane.“ Clue #2 is “he will need more jeans/pants than shorts.”  Clue #3 is “we’re boarding Alaska Airlines.“ Clue #4 is “one of day’s activities is wine tasting.”   She posted this on her TravelMamas Facebook page today and will posting more clues periodically…. Where the hell am I going?!

My Schedule:  Available all day until 3p, then getting ready for my mystery anniversary….

My Market Watch:   Bonds Were Up…Now Down – Fixed Better For Now…   Sound familiar?  That headline is the same as yesterday.  Hmmmm…pattern?  Bonds were trading up this morning which was good because Interbank published better fixed rate prices. But once again Bonds are down enough from this morning’s highs to warrant a mid-day reprice for the worse.

Bernanke Calms Things Down.  Finally…it seems that Bernanke is making some statements to ease the panic of bond traders. In his appearance this week his statements were noticeably calming.  I’ve been asking for this for 6 weeks for crying out loud!  After his blowout Mr. Hyde impression where he completely changed his position on QE, there was no subsequent statement to calm things down. It’s almost as if he wanted the bottom to fall out so he could get things where he wanted, and then, ever so carefully, he started calming the markets down. One thing is for sure, Ben Bernanke is an extremely intelligent thoughtful person.  If you’ve ever watched interviews with him or read up on his background, the guy is brilliant. I think he knows exactly what he’s doing, and I think he has things exactly where he wants them.

Perspective.  30-Year Fixed Average Rates:

Past 40 years:  8.15%    Past 20 years:  6.52%
Past 30 years:  7.45%    Past 10 years:  5.72%

A Word On Pricing.  We have corporate calls on our pricing strategy. Interbank has traditionally been hyper-aggressive in price but with so much volatility in the bond market we have backed off temporarily while remaining competitive. It is our every intention to jump back into our role as an aggressively priced lender…but when the time is right…. This is good smart business.   

A word on locks.  Even though turn-times are fast, I advise longer term locks or at least a pricing cushion to account for possible lock extensions. Flexibility in getting additional days is not as elastic. I advise 45 day Locks. If you must lock 30 days then be sure to build in additional rebate in case you need to pay for an extension.  This is good smart business.

Distinguish Yourself. In order to succeed in this business and in this market, you must find a way to distinguish yourself from other LOs. That is, if you are going to get more reliable referral sources, you must be able to clearly convey several compelling reasons why they should use you….My calendar is getting full – I am scheduling presentations to discuss (1) How to Be Successful In The Future Market, (2) Where to Look For Additional Referral Sources, and (3) How To Distinguish Yourself From Other LOs.  Let me know if you’re interested in a presentation….