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.

Bond giant makes 'good case' for real estate slowdown

Recession talk makes comeback

Feb 24

Fed plans more rate hikes in face of 'red-hot' economy

Economists brace for fallout from mortgage, construction sectors

Feb 17

Fed's rate hikes may burst real estate bubble

Treasury yield inversion worries economists

Feb 10

Real estate rates approach 4-year highs

Market faces impact of Treasury bond auction

Feb 6

Clues point to more Fed rate increases

Mortgage rates poised to climb further

Jan 27

Real estate rates stuck in neutral

Markets hold all bets until new Fed chief's commentary

Jan 20

Sluggish economy takes real estate rates lower

Weakness linked to consumer credit, HELOC reports

Jan 13

Long-term real estate rates may have 'topped out'

Forecasters size up latest economic reports

Jan 6

Interest-rate volatility expected in '06

Iraq situation may impact financial markets

Jan 3

Closer look at latest Fed speak

Long-term mortgage rates fall after Fed hike this week

Dec 16

Long-term real estate rates refuse to rise

But borrowers with adjustable loans will soon feel pinch

Dec 12

Economy screams, real estate rates climb

Home-price slowdown could make big splash

Dec 5

Slowing housing market and the bond spread

Mortgage market commentary

Nov 18

The week in real estate rates

Bond market, Fed hikes paint picture of possible recession

Nov 14

Fed poised to put brakes on economy

October data come in strong; interest rates advance

Nov 7

Financial markets size up new Fed chief

Interest rates, inflation become hot button

Oct 31

The week in real estate rates

Mortgage market commentary

Oct 25

Lagging mortgage rates undermine Fed's fight

Monetary balancing act trickier than expected

Oct 17

Inflation puts Fed in the hot seat

Markets predict tighter monetary policy

Oct 10

Fed on a mission to slow economy

Rate hikes should curb energy-induced inflation

Oct 3

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