Despite the cross currents of rising interest rates and home prices, first-time homebuyers have outperformed the broader market.

They recorded their best first nine months in 13 years and showed the current housing cycle's fundamentals remain strong despite a broader slowdown in activity, according to the First-Time Homebuyer Market Report from Genworth Mortgage Insurance.

At the same time, first-time homebuyers are not immune to declining affordability, and the market has declined in 19 states. First-time homebuyers adjusted to declining affordability by buying cheaper homes,” said Tian Liu, chief economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance.  New homes between $200,000 and $300,000, where there are more first-time buyers, saw a 15 percent increase, while those priced between $300,000 and $750,000, where there are more repeat buyers, saw declines ranging from 3 percent to 12 percent.

Additional highlights from the survey are as follows:

• Single-family home purchases increase
  • 3Q'18: 582,000 single-family homes were purchased – a one percent year-over-year increase.
  • 9M'18: 1,580,000 single-family homes were purchased – the most during the first nine months of a year since 2005.
  • Larger Share: First-time homebuyers accounted for 40 percent of single-family homes sold and 55 percent of purchase mortgages originated, both higher than a year ago.
  • Diverging Trends Across States: Unlike the 2014-17 period when almost all states reported more first-time homebuyer activities, only two-thirds of states reported growth in Q3
• Lower housing affordability: Monthly mortgage payments for first-time homebuyers increased by 15 percent year-over-year from higher interest rates (up eight percent more) and higher home prices (up over six percent).
• Homebuyers Favoring Lower-Priced Homes: Prices for the most expensive 40 percent of homes bought by first-time homebuyers declined for the first-time since 2013-14.
• Sales of Affordable New Homes Grew: New homes priced between $200,000 and $300,000 were one of the few price segments to show year-over-year growth, up by 15 percent, while demand for homes priced between $300,000 and $750,000 decreased by five percent.
• PMI Most-Sold Product: 202,000 homebuyers used conventional mortgages with private mortgage insurance to finance their first home purchase, a 17 percent year-over-year increase. For two consecutive quarters conventional loans with mortgage insurance were the single-largest source of credit for first-time homebuyers.
• Low Down Payments Still Preferred: 463,000 (80 percent) of homebuyers used low down payment mortgages to finance their first home purchase.
• Young Homeowner Demand Grows: Homeownership rates for households under 35 years of age increased by 1.2 percent during the third quarter.

Interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from September to October across the U.S., according to several indices of new mortgage contracts from the Federal Housing Finance Authority .

• The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.75 percent for loans closed in late October, up 13 basis points from 4.62 percent in September.
• The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 4.72 percent, up 9 basis points from 4.63 in September.
• The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $453,100 or less was 4.87 percent, up 10 basis points from 4.77 in September.
• The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 4.81 percent in October, up 9 basis points from 4.72 in September.  The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.
• The average loan amount for all loans was $315,100 in October, up $9,000 from $306,100 in September.

Many mortgage sales professionals' business plans fail because they lack clarity, are not easily actionable, and are not properly designed to align with the life, habits, and character of the sales pro, notes a sales trainer.

"Wishing for great sales without consistent focused action, measurement, adjustment, and skill development will ultimately create mediocrity," said Ron Vaimberg, a trainer and coach who works with originators to increase their sales.

"If you want to take complete control over your sales and financial future, then you must be willing to do what the average or poor sales people will never do," said Vaimberg, who is also the founder of Ron Vaimberg International.  "Your success is not driven by the economy. It is driven by what you are willing to give of yourself to be the best at your chosen profession--selling."

Vaimberg teaches seven essential that every business plan needs to contain to be clear, actionable, and inspiring--and most important--lead to originating more loans.

1. Commitment to Your Income Goal. Most sales professionals write their 'dream' number. This is the number that they hope to achieve, but do not necessarily believe in. The only way to be crystal clear on what an income goal really is to answer: "What am I absolutely committed to earning in the next 12 months?
2. Clarity on your "Why." Goals without a driving force behind them are meaningless. The why is the force that pushes originators forward every day. It must be clear, inspire originators to act, and have longevity so there is no waning from the chosen path.
3. Know Your Numbers. The more the numbers are known, the more predictable business growth will be. To succeed in sales requires knowing the following: How many hours an originator spends prospecting daily, and the number of leads he generates. Also, an originator needs to know the number of leads converted to an active transaction, and the percentage of transactions that result in a final sale or closing. Understanding your numbers helps identify skills the originator needs to improve.
4. Strategy for Growth. Most sales professionals generalize their growth strategy. For example, they might say "I need to make more sales calls." Having a clearly defined strategy is critical. Define who to target, where  to prospect, and where business growth will come from.
5. Defined Tactics of Execution. Once a strategy is in place, define the specific actions that will be taken. For example, if the strategy is to network at industry events, then define tactics that maximize results.
6. Skills Necessary for Plan Execution. To get the most out of every action requires an honest self-evaluation. Reflect on the skills needed to improve to ensure the most effective execution. Then create a plan for education and mastery of those areas. It is a process of growth, so don't expect to master all the areas at once. Here's the good news: Work to improve, brings immediate positive results.
7. Scheduling and Time Alignment. This final step determines if the plan stands a chance: Ab originator needs to calculate the time needed and compare it to the number of hours he is willing to put toward working his plan.

These steps can help sales professionals gain real clarity, but it is critical that deliberate action is taken to help ensure that plans laid out in the business plan are attained.

Laura Faasua has brought a class action lawsuit against her former employer, Eagle Home Mortgage LLC, for alleged violations of California labor law. According to a court filing, the class action lawsuit against Eagle Home Mortgage is currently pending in the Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG18924014, and was filed by San Francisco Labor law attorneys at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP on October 10, 2018. The amount in controversy is under $5 million.

The lawsuit alleges that Eagle Home Mortgage failed to lawfully provide meal and rest periods, and pay minimum wages in a timely manner to their California employees working for the company.

Fassua “was employed by the lender in California as a loan officer from February 2014 to April 2, 2018 and was at all times during her employment with the defendant entitled to be paid minimum wages and entitled to the legally required off-duty meals. The plaintiff was also required to be paid for her rest periods as defendant paid plaintiff only commission wages and/or draws for certain pay periods. defendant did not separately compensate plaintiff for her rest periods,” according to the court filing.

The defendants’ meal period policies and practices are alleged to be unlawful because plaintiffs and other California class members were far too over-booked and overworked to take a timely off-duty 30-minute break for a meal. The lawsuit further alleges that the failure of Eagle Home Mortgage to provide the legally required meal and rest period is evidenced by the company's business records, according to a press release from Blumenthal Nordrehaug.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges plaintiffs were required by Defendant to use their own personal cellular phones, as a result of and in furtherance of their job duties, as employees for the defendant, but were not reimbursed or indemnified by the defendant for the cost associated with the use of their personal cellular phones for defendant’s benefit. Eagle Home Mortgage was founded in 1981 and operates as a subsidiary of Lennar Corp.