As you know by now, the sky is falling on the mortgage industry. It has been for a few years. Nobody’s borrowing. Fewer still are lending.
But I have a secret to share. They will be borrowing (and lending) again soon. And when they do, you’ll see more business than ever in Texas. Why, you ask?
It’s hard to believe that Hollerbach & Associates opened its doors for the first time almost 3 decades ago. Now that makes me feel old! In 1985, a 30 year fixed mortgage could run some borrowers over 12 percent. Countrywide had just gone public, and the industry was on the verge of a secondary market spurred down-cycle. “Freddy” and “Fannie” did not quite mean the same things that they do today.
I guess the moral of the story is that this is a cyclical industry. Good times are always followed by bad. Bad times will always come to an end. But if I‘ve learned anything in my first 25 years as owner of Hollerbach & Associates, it’s that good business happens when one works with good people. We’ll continue to work with, and seek out, good, honest people to deliver our products. And we’re confident that this is the approach that will see firms like ours through to the next “up-cycle.” After all, it’s worked for the first 25 years.
We read a lot these days about the “consolidation” of the real estate industry. Usually, that means that the big fish are gobbling up the little fish, and that’s a natural part of business everywhere. Technology and other processes are being used to improve efficiencies. From a positive perspective, that means working smarter in an industry with historically narrow margins. For the naysayer, that means jobs are being eliminated. Both are true—such is business.
We hear a lot every day from the national trade publications that the real estate industry is “consolidating.” It’s becoming a struggle for independent, local market title and settlement services firms to compete with larger national outfits. But is this the beginning of the end for the small, local shop? I’m here to argue that it isn’t. And here’s why.
For more information and a closer look, check out reimaginethealamo.org
Mortgage and real estate lending success begins with the little things. From time to time, we’ll let you know what we hear from our lending partners, and refresh you on the details that make a good mortgage lender great!
But I’d ask all of us to consider just how important the political process is in our lives. We can choose to ignore or criticize it from afar, which is the easy way out, as far as I’m concerned. That usually allows for the worst possible results. Or we can get involved. We still live in a democratic republic. Skepticism aside, we can still make a difference. At the minimum, get educated on the issues impacting your life by using more than political advertisements and water cooler conversation. Make your voice heard. And if you don’t like something, get involved! That, in my humble opinion, is the Texan’s way.