The last year and nine months have seen tremendous change in the mortgage industry which has been a catalyst for change throughout the economy - much of it unwanted. Ultimately we may be much better off as we adopt new regulations that will protect investors and consumers from pervasive fraud such as that perpetrated by Mr. Madoff. The saying "it is always darkest before the dawn" has never been more true nor has the saying that "there is a silver lining in every cloud." The silver lining in this cloud is home affordability AND great interest rates. People acting on these opportunities will probably be a key precipitating factor in bringing on the proverbial daybreak by helping housing prices to stabilize while at the same time providing an income for people in the real estate and mortgage industries.
With so much action being taken by the federal government and with the news now trying to put a positive spin on absolutely everything while minimizing the negative, it is clear that the powers that be want to impose a shift in the way we think about how bad the economy is and how soon it will get better. Some top economists aren't as optimistic as the President might want them to be, but while we probably have a lot of paddling to do before we reach safe ground, I am hopeful that we are moving in the right direction. The key thing is to remember that there are some great opportunities: among them is home affordability with prices having dropped significantly and interest rates at or near historic lows.
For more thoughts and ideas on the economy, mortgage and real estate industries, please visit www.sweetsoundstudios.com and click on the "Podcast" page where you can listen to all of my podcasts regarding these topics. You can also subscribe to the series which will allow you to receive new episodes automatically when they are produced (about once or twice a month). Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and comments either on the blog / podcast or to provide ideas for new episodes. The latest podcast talks about the Making Home Affordable program which is the government's most recent effort, announced in the beginning of March, to help people stay in their homes.
