MORTGAGE RATES REPORT

July 2, 2009 Mortgage Rates Report

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but mortgage rates are headed higher before Labor Day.  The Fed is pulling the plug on its emergency, market-meddling:

An end to the Fed's emergency measures poses a "cliff-effect" risk for the bond market, according to Morgan Stanley.

The effect "increases the risk for a policy misstep and produces greater uncertainty," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in their midyear outlook published on Wednesday.

They forecast benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields could push toward 4.25 percent by the end of the year, almost 0.70 percentage point above current levels. Short-term yields on the other hand will likely stay steady.

They also expect increased volatility and higher risk premiums on spread products like mortgage-backed securities.

Think of the relationship between Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities like a dog, leashed by his master.  Sometimes, the the master lets the dog run and then...

SNAP! 

The master tugs on the leash and the dog comes running towards him.  The Fed's emergency mortgage-backed securities program was a tug on the leash, in an effort to bring mortgage rates down towards Treasury bonds.  The Fed's letting the leash out.  Expect interest rates to rise and mortgage rates to rise even faster.  Let's lock all loans at application.

Social Media Marketing for REALTORs: (Part 10): Tying It All Together

"Who the heck has time to do all of this?" is a question that may have entered your mind these past ten days.  Certainly, a social media marketing campaign neither:

• produces immediate results, or

• is easy to implement. 

 

An effective social media campaign develops over years, not weeks.  All of the ideas I showed you are free or extremely low-cost (less than $50/month) but they do require a time investment on your part.  To develop a web presence like I or Greg Swann have is kind of like eating an elephant; you have to do it one bite at a time.  Here are some tips to help you get started:

Social Media Marketing for REALTORs (Part 9) : Blogging

Blogging is an excellent way to practice all five pillras of social media marketing.  It is a great way to demonstrate your expertise, provide contect for the search engines so that you are "findable" for certain key phrases, and answer client-generated questions in the public's eye.

Oftentimes, mainstream media read weblogs to look for local experts when working on a story.  Ive been interviewed and quoted by:

Forbes
Business Week
Yahoo! Finance
CNN Money
CNBC
MSNBC

This topic is so complex that a short video wouldn't do it justice.  Interested people should read:

REAL ESTATE WEBLOGGING 101

Should you decideyou want to set up your own weblog, you have many platforms from which to choose.  I prefer Typepad because of its simplicity.  Here is a video about how to set up a Typepad weblog:

Social Media Marketing for REALTORs (Part 8): Twitter

Twitter is a quickly growing social network, designed around the simple question "What are you doing?".  Essentially, users answer that question in 140 characters or less and post it so that all of their "followers" can see the answer.  Before you dismiss the network as banal, think about how you might watch for sales oopportunities or broadcast useful information on Twitter.

Here is a directory of real estate professionals using Twitter to build their businesses, today.

Watch this video to learn how to set up and use your Twitter account:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 7): LinkedIn

LinkedIn is perhaps the "Grand-Daddy" of the social networks.  It is far more "professional" in its presentation and appeal than Facebook.  Over 42 million professionals from 200 countries are using LinkedIn today.

From the Linked In "About Us" page:

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then form enduring connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts. Through your network you can:

• Manage the information that’s publicly available about you as professional
• Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, and subject experts who come recommended
• Create and collaborate on projects, gather data, share files and solve problems
• Be found for business opportunities and find potential partners
• Gain new insights from discussions with likeminded professionals in private group settings
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings to find the best talent for your company

Here is a video about how I've used LinkedIn, since 2003, to build my customer base:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 6): Facebook

Facebook is, in my opinion, one of the best social networks to be present.  Some statistics about Facebook:

• More than 200 million active users
• More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college
• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older
• Average user has 120 friends on the site
• More than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
• More than 30 million users update their statuses at least once each day

Here is an instructional video about how I use Facebook for business:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 5): Active Rain

ActiveRain.com is one of the coolest destination sites for REALTORs.  To date, over 150,000 real estate professionals have registered on the site; a good bumber of them use the free blogging platform it provides.  Active Rain has a nominal monthly fee for a consumer-facing weblog.

Active Rain's Brad Andersohn shows you how to set up an Active Rain profile:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 4): Trulia

Trulia.com is another strong, national website which attracts both buyers and sellers.  In my opinion, Trulia is setting itself up as a national, online MLS search site.

Rudy Bachraty shows us how to set up a Trulia profile:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 3): Zillow Profile

Zillow.com is a powerful website which attracts both buyers and sellers alike.  Sellers often use it to check out the "Zestimate" for their home and neighboring properties.  Buyers are attracted to both listings on the site and the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.

In this video, Sara Bonert explains how REALTORs can use Zillow to market themselves by:

1. setting up a profile
2. uploading listings
3. answering questions in the Zillow Advice section

Watch Sara's presentation:

Social Media Marketing For REALTORs (Part 2): Google Profiles

Google is the premier search engine on the internet. It is usually the first place your potential customers would search for you.  One of the easiest ways to brand yourself on the internet is through the first pillar of social media marketing; declaration of identity.  Google Profiles makes it easy for REALTORs to "rank" on the bottom of the first page, for their name.

Brad Coy explains why REALTORs should set up a Google profile on Bloodhound Blog:

The personal profiles are not new.  I did share some of my thoughts on this in Unchained in Seattle.  They’ve been around for a while now, it just seems that every time I take a look at them they add more features.  First with a curious name verification process, then just last week with custom URLs.  They now support a pretty good amount of info on someone depending on your settings.  Numerous links to sites, an ‘about me’, contacts, and a Flickr or Picassa feed for photos.

None of this might be relevant except for the fact that Googling you is what people do.   Even my wife (against my personal preference) told someone to just look me up on Google the other day.  That person found me in a heart beat.

Watch this video from Lorna Li to learn how to set up a Google Profile: