I want to wish you all Happy New Year’s and all the best in 2012! I want to sincerely thank you for the opportunity to work with you and your clients, and look forward to helping many more of your clients in the years to come.
The numbers are in and our branch, in its first full year with Primary Residential Mortgage, we finished in the top 10 in units for 2012 out of over 300 branches nationwide! We are extremely proud of this accomplishment. On an individual note, I finished the year as the 5th highest producing loan officer in the company, out of over 1,000 loan officers nationwide.
I thank you again for your support and will continue to strive to make the home buying process a smooth and pleasant experience!
Financial Markets
The Dow ended the year at 12,217, up roughly 5 ½% for the year, a year in which the market experienced tremendous volatility and uncertainty. For the quarter, the market was up nearly 12%, marking the highest quarterly gain in the stock market’s history.
Mortgage rates continue to remain at historically low levels, as the ongoing crisis in Europe directed and continues to direct investors to the safe haven US bonds, despite US debt being downgraded for the first time in our nation’s history. I suspect that the trend will continue as Europe continues to struggle with solutions to their own debt problems.
So, my bold and gutsy prediction is that mortgage rates remain low in 2012 but rise by as much as ½ percent towards the latter part of the year. 30 year fixed would still remain below 5% and shouldn’t have a noticeable adverse effect on housing demand.
Southern Nevada Real Estate and Economy
Below is a link to the Las Vegas Sun where 10 economists give their forecasts for the local economy for 2012. It is undisputed that our housing market can only recover as our local economy recovers, so it is critical to keep a watchful eye on local economic conditions. The consensus is that the worst is behind us. With unemployment now down to as low as 12.5%, (Still among the nation’s highest, but better than the 15% reached last year) being among the most critical of economic statistics. All agree that our economy must diversify, and will be critical to a stabilized economy in the future.
