MARCH MADNESS

Next week is the start of March Madness. So regardless of whether your team is in the Big Dance or not, (sorry Wake Forest Fans) you can participate with the Method Mortgage Tournament Challenge, with the chance to win the top prize, Click here to enter your bracket The password to join is “clear2close!”

There are prizes for the top 2 spots, and a "trophy" for last place. Good Luck! AND Gang, if you’re in town, let me know if you’d like to come by our March Madness open house next Thursday for the first round of games! Click here to email me and let us know you can come! Would love to see y’all! 

You need something to dip those pizza crusts in and Hidden Valley Ranch just announced they're searching for their first-ever Ranch-bassadors (another misspelled job title) This one comes with a passport. They're looking for you AND a partner (your ranch ride-or-die) to take an all-expense-paid trip to Europe this summer to spread the love of ranch dressing across the continent. Think drizzling ranch on pizza in Italy, or dunking fish and chips in London, and getting paid to capture it all on camera. Your job is basically to create fun, scroll-stopping content that shows Europe what America's favorite dressing is all about. Applications aren't open quite yet, but the countdown clock is ticking on their website. This is the kind of gig where loving ranch isn't just a matter of taste… it's a job requirement. Drop your email by clicking below to get notified the second applications go live.

OR simply could become the CTO of a small company… WENDY'S. And if you were thinking, Chief Technology Officer, you're close… it's the CHIEF TASTE OFFICER. Wendy's is on the hunt for their very first Chief Tasting Officer. The gig pays $100,000, is mostly remote (your couch and your local Wendy's count as the office), and the requirements are delightfully simple: a human mouth, a pulse, opinions, creativity, and taste. The winner will eat Wendy's food, make content, and maybe even star in ads. Wendy's is calling it "a job AI can't steal" because, AI doesn't have a mouth. Submit a 60-second video showing off your Wendy's love and personality. Bonus points if you feature their food or a restaurant. Applications close March 30th at 11:59 PM ET, so don't wait, your Frosty-dipping, Baconator-loving self might just be exactly what they're looking for. Click below to learn more.

PLAID AND SYRUP

LL Bean is coming to Alabama and they’re bringing the Bootmobile! It’s exciting because, it is not every day that a size-708 boot on wheels comes cruising through town. Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is opening its first-ever Alabama store on April 3 at Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, and they’re celebrating in a big way—by rolling in their legendary Bootmobile.

The Bootmobile is a giant version of the company’s famous Bean Boot, built like a rolling mascot for the outdoors. Starting March 28, the oversized boot will make surprise stops around Huntsville, giving locals a chance to snap photos and experience a little bit of that classic New England outdoor spirit.



The boot will also swing by Toyota Field on April 4 during the Rocket City Trash Pandas’ opening homestand, which should make for some fun ballpark photos.

Along with the new store comes about 40 new jobs, including team leads and sales associates. The nearly 16,000-square-foot store will bring L.L. Bean’s well-known outdoor gear and apparel to North Alabama just in time for hiking, camping, and maybe even chasing down a giant boot on wheels. Click below to read more.

So, if you work hard and get paid to sit on the couch eating pizza, dipping in ranch, and take a break to run to grab a square patty hamburger with cheese, you’ll get a pretty decent paycheck out of your multiple gigs. What could you spend your new found gig economy funds on?

Well, Costco is famous for selling things in bulk, but their latest discovery might take the cake, or rather, PANcake. Some warehouses are now offering a 55-gallon drum of pure maple syrup for about $2,500, and gang, our editors cannot decide if it's completely ridiculous or awesome. The giant barrel first caught people’s attention when a shopper posted a photo online, sitting among the usual pallets of bulk goods. It is big enough to sweeten waffles for your next five lifetimes. Whether you see it as the world's stickiest impulse buy, it is proof that Costco is always finding new ways to surprise us. Click below to read more!

REAL ESTATE TO BEHOLD



Let’s go with a few different options for upcoming spring break. First, a great spot in Turks & Caicos. This 7-acre beachfront compound known as Triton Villa is currently listed for about $50 million and is headed to a no-reserve auction in April. The property was purchased by a tech entrepreneur for $11.5 million in 2019, and he reportedly poured more than $30 million into renovations and expansions to turn it into a luxury resort-style compound.



Today it spans 18,000+ square feet with 15 bedrooms, guest bungalows, two pools, a beachfront gym, and even its own sports center with tennis, pickleball, and some of the first padel courts on the island. And if the place looks familiar, that’s because it’s been featured on Netflix’s “Too Hot to Handle” and Bravo’s “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.” Click below to see more.

Here’s ANOTHER auction, this time where a 5 Star resort villa in Mexico could be another option. This clifftop villa inside the ultra-luxury One & Only Mandarina resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast was previously listed for $32 million and is now heading to auction this spring.

The home spans about 10,000 square feet with seven bedrooms, designed as a series of jungle pavilions connected by open-air walkways overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Madre mountains. And of course, ownership means full access to the five-star resort amenities: private beaches, golf, polo, spa experiences, and more. Click below to see and read more.

Some folks may want to stay here in the continental US and take a spring break trip to New York City. One of the most talked-about new luxury developments is 80 Clarkson, a massive new condo project rising in Manhattan’s West Village along the Hudson River. The two-tower development will include about 112 ultra-luxury residences, with amenities like a spa, indoor pool, squash court, music studio, and even private wine cellars. Despite barely marketing the building publicly, the project has already seen more than $1 billion in sales, showing just how strong demand is for high-end property in downtown Manhattan. Click below to see more.

Final one keeps you closer to home, right here in Alabama, but this Airbnb will make you feel like you travelled to India. This unique stay is known as “The Flying Carpet,” a Moroccan-inspired treehouse in Cullman, often nicknamed the “Taj Mahal of the South.” The exotic design features intricate patterns, lanterns, colorful textiles, and architecture inspired by Morocco and India.

 

The one-bedroom treehouse sits tucked into the woods and has become a popular romantic getaway- and now it’s getting national attention after being featured on HGTV’s new show “Wild Vacation Rentals.” Click below to read the al.com article and see more.

THE ECONOMY AND REAL ESTATE

Right now, economic reports aren’t leading the way, and we could have seen some interest rate improvement or at the worst, some stability from this report in normal times. The February inflation report just dropped, and honestly? On paper, it looks pretty decent. Prices rose 0.3% for the month and 2.4% over the last year; in line with what experts expected. Even better, rent saw its smallest monthly increase since January 2021, used car prices fell, and egg prices actually dropped big time. In normal times, this would be a report worth celebrating. But this data was collected before Iran sent oil prices surging, and that changes the story. Higher oil prices tend to trickle into gas, shipping, and basically everything else, which means inflation could look a lot different in the months ahead. The Fed meets on March 18th, and traders are placing nearly 100% odds that they hold interest rates right where they are. For mortgage rates, that means don't hold your breath for relief just yet. This was the calm before the storm — and we're watching closely to see how it all plays out.

Here's a little good! Existing home sales rose 1.7% in February, with buyers stepping up in the Midwest, West, and here in the South. That's movement, and we'll take it! The median home price came in at $398,000, with about 3.8 months of inventory available, an increase from 3.3 in December 2025 before we turned the calendar. Gang, this means more choices for buyers than we've seen in a while. NAR's Chief Economist noted that housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding to it. But he also kept it real — we still have a long way to go to get back to normal. There are over 6 million more jobs in this country than there were in 2019, yet home sales are running about a million per year below pre-pandemic levels. Inventory is growing, but slowly. The good news is that the direction is right. Buyers are coming off the sidelines. More homes are hitting the market. It's not a full comeback yet, but it's a step forward, and right now, every little bit helps!

Finally, with rates heading the wrong way for the time being, our editors chose a recent blog from the folks at Keeping Current Matters that they felt would be a good reminder for folks thinking thru their housing goals. So, to close out this week’s update, Keep reading the blog below titled, “Should You Wait for lower Rates?” The answer may surprise you. 

Mortgage rates have already dropped into the upper 5s twice this year. But after just a few days, they ticked back up into the low 6% range. If you saw that and thought,

“Great. I missed it,” you’re not the only one.

A lot of buyers are treating the 5s like some kind of magic number. As if moving from 6.1% to 5.99% suddenly changes everything. And from a mindset perspective, it does feel different.

But here’s the part most people don’t actually run the math on.

The Payment Difference Isn’t What You Think

Let’s say you’re looking at a $500,000 home loan. At 6.1%, generally speaking, your principal and interest payment is roughly $3,030 per month. At 5.9%, it’s about $2,966 per month.

That’s a difference of only $64 a month.

Not $300.

Not $500.

Sixty dollars.

Let that sink in for just a moment.

Yes, over time that $64 a month can add up. But it’s far from the dramatic swing many buyers imagine when they say they’re “waiting for the 5s.”

The psychological impact of seeing a 5 in front of your rate can feel big. The financial impact? It might be something you don’t even notice when it’s all said and done.

Experts Aren’t Predicting a Big Drop

Another important piece to think about: most housing economists aren’t forecasting a long-term return to 5% territory anytime soon.

While rates will move up and down, likely hitting the high 5s here and there, the broader expectation is for mortgage rates to hover in the low 6% range this year, not stay in the 5’s or decline much more.

While it certainly could happen, the reality is, waiting for a deep drop may not deliver the payoff you’re hoping for if you’re holding out.

The Bigger Question to Ask

Instead of asking, “Did I miss the 5s?” A better question is: “Does today’s payment work for me?” 

If the monthly payment fits comfortably in your budget, and you’ve found a home that meets your needs, the difference between 6.1% and 5.9% likely isn’t the deciding factor. It might be one of them, but it shouldn’t be everything. 

And remember, mortgage rates aren’t permanent. If they drop meaningfully later, refinancing is always an option. But you can’t refinance a home you didn’t buy.

Waiting Might Feel Safe, But It Isn’t Always Strategic

It's natural to want the best possible rate. Everyone does. But sometimes buyers overestimate how much a rate in the high 5s will change things in today's market. Don't miss the fact that rates have already come down. A year ago, they were in the 7s. Now?

They're hovering in the low 6s. And for a lot of people, that percentage point difference that's already here is the real game changer. If you paused your plans when rates were higher, now may be the right time to re-run your numbers — not because rates are perfect, but because the monthly payment math might work better than you think. Before assuming you’ve missed your moment, take another look at the numbers.

You may find it never disappeared.

Bottom Line

If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for that magic number, that strategy may not pay off as much as you'd expect. Let's connect so you can double check the math at your price point. You may realize payments are already within your range.

RATES:

Pricing and rates remain erratic and volatile. Confirm rates & pricing directly with your loan officer.

Check out the trivia below and remember, there is a drawing to enter to win a gift card. This is your chance to enter for a chance to win the gift card awarded every other month. This trivia question is for the March & April drawing/card.

TRIVIA QUESTION

TOMORROW, March 14^th, is National Pi(e) Day, a play on the fact that it is 3.14 (like the math symbol pi). Apple is the most popular pie in America, and whether you like pie as much as Joey Chestnut who ate 13 lbs. of pie in 8 minutes or not, Pie has been around for a long time. Historically, who is credited with creating the first pie?



A.    Egyptians, around 3000 BC (Walk like an Egyptian and get some PIE!)

B.     Romans, around 30 BC (during Julius Caesar’s reign)

C.     The English around 1200 (King John and Magna Carta era)

D.    The French around 1790 (Marie Antoinette could have said, Let them eat PIE)

E.     American Colonists around 1750 (George Washington and it was Cherry Pie!)

Click here to EMAIL ME YOUR ANSWER.

**Email your answer to me to have your name entered in a drawing for a gift card at the beginning of even months and YES you can go back and answer previous weeks’ questions if you have not answered them already AND if we have not unveiled the answer yet***