Morning! This is MF Lending - the fool-proof way to serve up mortgage and real estate market knowledge without any of the guesswork. So you’ll look like the smartest agent in the room (and you are!)

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

1. Fed Week: What to Expect Wednesday ☕

2. Steadfast’s Discounted Mortgage Rates 🤑

3. From the Desk: Expert Opinions on Fed Decisions 📽️

By the way, this article on Last Week’s Negative Pressure is the most clicked link in this newsletter, you should check it out if you are interested.

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Rates Today 📉

Fed Week: What to Expect Wednesday ☕

Welcome to Fed Week! 🥳

The first of 8 Fed meetings throughout 2024 will happen on Wednesday followed by the ever-thrilling press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

So what will JPow and the Fed do this week?

There is a consensus that the Fed will hold rates steady (97% likely according to CME Group).

The much more intriguing portion of the meeting will be how the Fed discusses the new pieces of economic data that have been trickling in since late December.

The PCE print and GDP report last week were surprising to many investors. Not only did it show the economy was strong, but it also showed disinflation was fully in effect and that the Fed may actually succeed in the soft landing they were intending.

Will the Fed continue the hawkish stance? - repeating “higher for longer” as we saw most of 2023. Or, will they begin to see the economy in a positive light and hint that cuts are coming?

In my opinion, the first is much more likely. Time and time again Powell and the Fed have been cautious on indicating any rate cuts for fear of capital flooding the markets. I think this trend will continue.

Since 2022 the Fed has been slow to react to economic data. They were slow to provide stimulus in 2020 and slow to put the brakes on the economy in 2021. It does not seem reasonable to think they will begin to move quickly now.

Before the meeting, we only have one key piece of data coming in and that is the JOLTS Job Data on Tuesday morning. Over the last 6-8 months, this has consistently moved the market and will most likely be the last bit of movement before Wednesday afternoon.

Until Wednesday, we should see little volatility in the mortgage rate market (unless there is a wild JOLTS report). Investors will likely sit on their hands and wait to see what JPow has to say before they make any moves.

Steadfast’s Discounted Mortgage Rates 🤑

I have written about Steadfast’s discounted mortgage rates previously in the blog and I wanted to highlight it once again for the new readers.

Agent partners I work with have had HUGE success for buyers and their own listings with this program to offer below-market rates for their clients.

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Steadfast Mortgage has a program for Davidson County that offers discounted mortgage rates for specific addresses and zip codes in the county.

There is no additional qualifications for this program - you do not have to be a first-time buyer, or have a specific income, credit score, or debt ratio.

It is 100% based on the address - if the property falls in the bucket to qualify, you just need a conventional loan and you will get the discounted rate.

Listing agents I work with have been marketing homes they are selling that fit this program to give additional incentives to potential buyers.

Here is an example for a 300k home for a listing I ran on Friday.

The Steadfast rate is 0.625% lower than the market. That can be massive savings for clients.

Or, a buyer could use the 4k and apply it to their closing costs to have a lower cash to close.

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If you want to see if your next listing or buyer showing qualifies for these discounted rates, DM me @mf.lending or email me [email protected] and I can run the scenario for you! 🪩

From the Desk: Expert Opinions on Fed Decisions 📽️

Thanks for reading - that is all we have for today 😎

Please forward this to your friends and colleagues if you found it valuable.

— Michael F DiLucchio