Straight-talk mortgage insights from Rob McKenney. Realtor Edition ships every Monday with rates, inventory, and client scripts. Homeowner Edition ships monthly for buyers and owners who want the plain-English version.
The Fed meets June 16–17 under new chair Kevin Warsh, and every fence-sitting buyer wants to "wait and see." Why a Fed cut won't drop their mortgage rate — the last time the Fed cut a full point, rates went up — the four-beat conversation that reframes it, and the cost-of-waiting math.
Read the issue →Grand Traverse waterfront sales are up 29% year over year. How metro agents keep the Northern Michigan referral instead of handing it off cold, the second-home financing cheat sheet (10% down, the 100-mile rule is dead), and the Higgins Lake $550K Deal-Saver math.
Read the issue →The first monthly Michigan Edition — written for homeowners, not agents. Why Michigan families are quietly buying up north this summer, the Les Cheneaux Islands & Cedarville spotlight, and the 10%-down lake-house math most buyers get wrong before they call.
Read the issue →The FHFA put a number on the locked-in seller problem — and it reframes the whole Michigan inventory story. The one play that lets a homeowner move and keep the 3% rate (convert to rental), the qualifying math, and two honest backups.
Read the issue →Inflation came in hot, oil is over $100 a barrel, and the 10-year Treasury just hit a fresh one-year high. The Wednesday Fed catalyst, the two-sentence "why did rates jump?" script for your fence-sitting buyers, the Memorial Day open house game plan, and the seller-paid 2-1 buydown math that beats a $25K price cut.
Read the issue →Metro Detroit just logged its strongest first quarter since 2019 — and inventory hit a 6-year high at the same time. The four-beat pricing reset conversation for your stale listings, the "waiting for rates" math that closes fence-sitting buyers, and the Tuesday-morning CPI lock posture.
Read the issue →The self-employed buyer pool just got unstuck. Memorial Day is three Saturdays out. Deal-Saver math at $400K — seller-paid 2-1 buydown saves your seller $7K vs. the price cut and gets the buyer a $365/mo lower payment. Plus the post-tax-day re-engagement text and the Northern Michigan window.
Read the issue →Rates are drifting down. Your home's worth more than last year. Here's the quick-and-dirty framework for whether a refi makes sense — plus three easy ways to use me this month.
Read the issue →Rates have improved five straight weeks and sit 58 bps below last year. Detroit metro inventory at the highest level since 2019. Auto industry signal you should be reading. The Michigan property tax pop-up most realtors skip. Plus two pro moves and this week's client text.
Read the issue →The Minute is good. Your own mortgage plan is better. Two minutes to get a real quote — no hard pull, no pressure.
