Well things are looking up, but don't worry we could still be screwed 😘

This Week's Mortgage + Media Update with JohnB

Author

John Birke
December 05, 2023

The only newsletter (probably) where you can get the latest market trends, mortgage news, and social + AI updates all in one place

December 5th, 2023

Last Week:

Another week of good news sent rates back toward 7%, but ‘ol Jerome keep saying to calm down

  1. The housing market haters get fooled again

  2. Home sales take a hit after rates jump

  3. Conventional loans are about to be allowed up to $766,550

  4. Inflation keeps coming down

  5. Optimism for Feds upcoming policy is on the ups

  6. Jerome is trying to fix that

  7. But rates always focus on the positive and dropped close to 7%

Plus, Microsoft puts AI on the front burner with some billies in their eyes 🤑, TikTok says to stay a while, and Meta just gave you some 🔥 new creation tools

Really quick, if someone forwarded this email to you, don’t settle for being at mooch. Sign up and get it for yourself here 👇

Ok, now let’s get to it!

 The Mortgage Part 

Check out this week’s video 📽👇

🏡 Home Prices: Case-schiller show that they hit a new all-time high last quarter as inventory stayed high

Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 3.9% year-over-year in September; New all-time High

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 3.9% annual change in September, up from a 2.5% change in the previous month.

www.calculatedriskblog.com/2023/11/case-shiller-national-house-price-index.html

👷‍♀️ Pending Home Sales: Dropped to lowest level on record after rates hit 8% in October

Pending home sales drop to a record low, even worse than during the financial crisis

Pending home sales in October dropped to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking them in 2001.

www.cnbc.com/2023/11/30/pending-home-sales-drop-to-record-low.html

📈 Conforming Loans: The Federal Housing Finance Administration announce new conforming loan limits of over $766k for 2024

FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2024

Baseline Conforming Loan Limit Value Will Increase to $766,550

www.fhfa.gov/Media/PublicAffairs/Pages/FHFA-Announces-Conforming-Loan-Limit-Values-for-2024.aspx

👍 Inflation Data: PCE shows core inflation is at 3.5%, getting closer to the Fed’s goal of 2%

Fed’s favorite gauge shows inflation rose 0.2% in October and 3.5% from a year ago, as expected

Personal income and spending both rose 0.2% on the month, also meeting estimates and indicating that consumers are keeping pace with inflation.

www.cnbc.com/2023/11/30/pce-inflation-report-october-2023-.html

🏛 Fed Outlook: Fed Governor Waller and others said in a statement that if inflation numbers keep dropping we could see rate cuts coming soon

Fed’s Waller expresses confidence that policy is in the right place to bring down inflation

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday he is “increasingly confident that policy is currently well positioned to slow the economy and get inflation back to 2 percent.”

www.cnbc.com/2023/11/28/feds-waller-expresses-confidence-that-policy-is-in-the-right-place-to-bring-down-inflation.html

🥊 Jerome Pumps the Brakes: Fed Chair Jerome dumped some cold water on rate cut talks saying there is still much to be done and more hikes could be in the future

Fed Chair Powell calls talk of cutting rates ‘premature’ and says more hikes could happen

Markets largely took Powell’s comments as dovish, with stock up and Treasury yields down sharply.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/01/fed-chair-powell-calls-talk-of-cutting-rates-premature-and-says-more-hikes-could-happen.html

% Mortgage Rates: Another great week for rates coming off continued positive data, dropping to just above 7%

MBS Dashboard - MBS Prices, Treasuries and Analysis

View MBS prices and charts and follow the day's market activity with Micro News and Commentary.

www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mbs

🔍 Coming this week: Consumer credit and the super-massive-important jobs/unemployment report

U.S. Economic Calendar - MarketWatch

U.S. economic calendar consensus forecasts from MarketWatch.

www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendar

 The Media Part 

▶ Go Big or Go Back to Facebook

The people want more!!
TikTok is currently testing an extended video upload limit from 10 to 15 minutes, confirmed by the company to TechCrunch. This feature is in the experimental phase in select regions with a limited user group. This as TikTok continues it’s push to get more 1min+ video content on the app.

Originally renowned for short-form content, TikTok has gradually embraced longer videos. The platform previously increased its video length to 10 minutes in February 2022, up from the initial 60 seconds. This extension provides creators with more time for diverse content like cooking recipes, beauty tutorials, educational material, and comedy sketches. Previously, videos surpassing 10 minutes prompted creators to redirect viewers to a "Part 2" video. With the increased time limit, creators may no longer need to create an entire series.

This move positions TikTok in direct competition with YouTube, signaling an effort to attract long-form video creators who traditionally gravitate towards long-form and shy from the shorter styles made popular by TikTok. While TT has been associated with short, entertaining videos, this shift reflects the platform's evolving approach to accommodate longer content. Despite potential resistance from users accustomed to shorter videos, TikTok's introduction of features like fast-forwarding suggests an awareness of diverse user preferences.

TikTok is testing 15-minute uploads with select users | TechCrunch

TikTok is testing the ability for users to upload 15 minute videos, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday.

techcrunch.com/2023/10/23/tiktok-testing-15-minute-uploads

Well that’s it for the best (and likely only) Mortgage AND Media Newsletter out there. You’ve probably got some pilgrim hats to wear while you put on your stretchy pants, so be thankful for what you’ve got while you dig in and enjoy this week with family and friends and tryptophan commas 😴

And as always, I’m happy to help you and your clients with anything mortgage, marketing, or social media. See you next week and

Thanks for reading!

John Birke | Mortgage Advisor | Content Coach

NMNLS 1150795

Movement Mortgage
9726 Old Bailes Road, Suites 121 & 130, Fort Mill, South Carolina 29707

NC-I-211026, SC-MLO-1150795, AR-128178, MO-1150795, OK-MLO29209 | Movement Mortgage LLC. All rights reserved. NMLS ID #39179 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Interest rates and products are subject to change without notice and may or may not be available at the time of loan commitment or lock-in. Borrowers must qualify at closing for all benefits. For more licensing information please visit movement.com/legal.


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