“What do you get when you cross the Atlantic Ocean with the Titanic? Halfway.” We’ve crossed the halfway point of 2022, and where’s everyone’s attention? As always, lenders offer product, service, and price. Cheap HELOCs, 2nds, down payment assistance programs, and bond programs are in vogue, and any time the possibility of an insurance cut for FHA-backed loans makes it into the Wall Street Journal, it’s become mainstream thinking. Lenders have ramped up training existing staff: why pay a huge signing bonus to someone new when boosting existing LO productivity by a loan or two a month does wonders across the sales staff? Prices (and rates) are a function of the economy, and although inflation is on everyone’s watch list, jobs are still important. The U.S. jobs report for June is expected to show 250K jobs were added to the economy during the month and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%. The ongoing strength of labor demand is anticipated to translate into another month of solid wage growth as employees would like nothing better than to have the rate of change in their pay beat the inflation rate. (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Real Estate Connection (REC), a boutique real estate brokerage that acts as a centralized and organized, fully-managed real estate fulfillment service, connecting buyers with local qualified Real Estate Agents and walking them through the entire home purchase and selling process with the lender partner.)