Issue 112 – Hello and Happy Tuesday.

Well, Rocket Mortgage is at it again. Yesterday, it was announced that they plan to acquire Mr. Cooper in a $9.4 billion all-stock deal. This is right on the heels of the Redfin planned purchase a few weeks ago.

Why is Rocket doing this?

End-to-end homeownership experience. The play is really smart when you zoom out and look at what they are doing.

Rocket Money gets a lot of people in at the top of the funnel. Instant access to bank accounts, pay information (from bank statement deposits) to create propensity leads for the mortgage arm to make offers and strike when the borrower is best primed.

Offer the use of their in-house Real Estate agents via Redfin.

Now they can retain as much of the possible mortgage servicing as possible with one of the largest servicers in the country, Mr. Cooper. This will allow them to incubate the leads and reconvert via refinances, and when people buy/sell.

There is a whole heck of a lot more that goes into it, but it’s honestly out of my depth lol.

Personal Note:

Saturday saw us sneak in a “Decades” party over at Creekside Groves in between the rain.

Celebrating multiple people turning 40,50,60 &70 years old this year! People dressed in a decade theme. Fun times!!

Elise with her 70’s outfit and me trying to pull a Mimi Vice look!

Jamie with her 80’s attitude

TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read) Summary

• ⬇️ RATES – Slight lowering.

• 📊 TECHNICALS – Inflation still above 2% target.

INTEREST RATES
Rates 📢 April 1st, 2025

10 year 3-Month Snapshot

Rate data as of morning of publication. Unless noted otherwise, all scenarios are assuming 30 Year-Fixed mortgage, Purchase or R/T Refinance. No origination points charged, 780 FICO score, and 20% down payment. Provided for consumer education only and does not serve as a binding offer to extend lending. Payment period, interest rate, APR, and other terms subject to income, asset, and credit profile qualification. Provided courtesy of GTG Financial, Inc. NMLS 1595076. Equal housing opportunity. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

Markets are jittery. Tariff talk and Treasury supply concerns are pushing money out of stocks and into bonds, helping mortgage rates stabilize or even improve slightly. But with Friday’s Jobs Report on deck — and unemployment expected to tick higher — volatility remains the name of the game.

Bottom line: This week is a window of opportunity. If Friday’s data is weak, rates could drop further. If it surprises to the upside, expect a bounce.

TECHNICALS
Inflation Stubborn, Housing Surges!

The Fed’s inflation gauge came in hotter than expected… but housing delivered a surprise comeback in both new and pending sales. Let’s break it down 👇

📌 Key Takeaways:

✅ Inflation Moves Higher – Core PCE (the Fed’s favorite measure) rose 0.4% MoM, now 2.8% YoY. Still above target.
✅ New Home Sales Rebound – Up 1.8% in February, with 5.1% YoY growth despite bad weather in the Northeast.
✅ Pending Sales Up 2% – February bounce after January’s freeze delayed deals.
✅ Home Prices Stay Strong – Case-Shiller shows +4.1% YoY; FHFA shows +4.8% YoY.
✅ Consumer Spending Slows – Retail and PCE spending weak, raising slowdown worries.
✅ Job Market Mixed – Initial claims low, but continuing claims high = longer job hunts.

🔥 What’s Coming This Week?

🗓️ Tuesday – New Home Sales + Case-Shiller Home Price Index
🗓️ Thursday – Pending Home Sales + Jobless Claims
🗓️ Friday – The Fed’s core inflation report: PCE Index

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