Lou Barnes

Contributor

After five years as Marketing Manager of a mountaineering clothing and equipment manufacturer and retailer (a great way to enjoy your 20s), Lou Barnes built 45-broker, two-office Spruce Real Estate in Colorado from 1978-83, spending most of his time guiding the firm through extremely high interest rates. The world of money was more fun for him than real estate, and Barnes sold Spruce and joined investment banking ranks for five years as Managing Partner of RCM Government Securities, a broker-dealer working on the early flow of mortgages to Wall Street and their related derivatives. Two of those years involved work on the heart of the savings and loan meltdown -- one of the "consultants" commuting to Texas, Arkansas and other Southwestern garden spots (fortunately, he spoke the language: his family were Okies), he was asked to figure out how deep the hole was going to be. He wrote one of the earliest accurate estimates of the ultimate cost in 1986, and was one of the first to address the necessary asset workouts. Some people thrive in a career on airplanes, and Barnes was not one of them. In 1988 the homebody began another career as a mortgage banker in Boulder, just in time to catch the terrible peak of foreclosures afflicting the greater "Oil Patch" and "Savings and Loan Belt." The firm, Boulder West, survived and thrived as a small mortgage bank -- very old-fashioned, strictly "A" paper, and based on long-term relationships with Realtors and past clients. Even with that strength, Boulder West closed in 2009, and Lou and many of his colleagues joined far-larger Premier Mortgage Group. As a marketing tool and for sanity, Lou has written a weekly column on the financial markets every Friday for 20 years.

Mortgage rates hold at 2006 low point

No news of deepening economic slowdown

Dec 8

Mortgage rates fall, economy slows

Housing bubble talk on radar again

Dec 1

Resetting adjustable loans won't hurt housing

Mortgage market commentary

Nov 17

Mortgage credit to impact housing next year

Expect more frustrated sellers as lenders tighten standards

Nov 10

Economic landing looking softer than expected

Mortgage market commentary

Nov 3

Last week's credit market worries all reversed now

Mortgage market commentary

Oct 27

Fed pause likely next week

Mortgage market commentary

Oct 20

Fed ponders risks of deep economic slowdown

Mortgage market commentary

Oct 13

Labor report sends mortgage rates higher

Economic news wows bond market

Oct 6

Housing is 'gorilla' in economic slowdown

Mortgage market commentary

Sep 29

Energy prices fall, mortgage rates follow

Bond market sheds light on Fed's next move

Sep 22

Falling oil prices bring down mortgage rates

Inflation outlook improves

Sep 15

'Prices are falling' becomes real estate mantra

Mortgage market commentary

Sep 8

Two-month bond rally hits bottom

Mortgage market commentary

Sep 1

Economy allays fears of huge home-price declines

Mortgage market commentary

Aug 25

Sub-6.5% mortgage deals may be on horizon

Borrowing costs shrink on inflation news, housing slowdown

Aug 18

Not everyone's happy with Fed's pause at 5.25%

Mortgage market commentary

Aug 11

Bond market speculates Fed will cut rates

Winter could see lowered short-term funds rate

Aug 4

Mortgage rates likely to fall, but not far

Slowdown reminiscent of 1993-95 economic cycle

Jul 28

Mortgage rates fall after Bernanke's speech

Fed chief says economy is 'moderating,' but outcome may be worse

Jul 21

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