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.

Weekly real estate rates sink

Global economies avoid peril

Dec 10

Weak job gains impact real estate rates

But inflation looms on horizon

Dec 3

Real estate rates defy economic expansion

30-year fixed holds near 5.75%

Nov 19

Weak economy won't stifle interest-rate hikes

Refinance troubles loom on horizon

Nov 12

Job gains hike real estate rates

Presidential election has little immediate effect on markets

Nov 5

Real estate rates sink to 6-month low

Bond markets prepare for post-election economy

Oct 29

Nearly impossible for mortgage rates to dip below record

Commentary: Market drivers affecting interest rates

Oct 22

Fed doesn't blame shaky economy on oil prices

Mortgage rates hold below 6%

Oct 15

Jobs, economy to take spotlight at presidential debate

Stagnation keeps 30-year mortgages below 6%

Oct 8

Weak labor market to keep mortgage rates in the fives

Fannie Mae scandal won't affect borrowing costs

Oct 1

Real estate prices to slow, not collapse

Weakening economy not indicative of housing bubble

Sep 24

Housing bubble not on radar

Long-term interest rates fall to new post-April low

Sep 17

Change coming for overnight interest rates

Fed reports economic 'expansion' in August

Sep 10

Downturn strikes economy

Mortgage rates to remain below 6.5% into '05

Sep 3

Iraq war rattles economy

Fed may have to reverse plans to accommodate downshift

Aug 27

Rising oil prices keep lid on mortgage rates

'Deeper economic slowdown' could come soon

Aug 20

Economy poised for slowdown

But Fed's moving swiftly toward a neutral funds rate

Aug 13

Mortgage rates plummet

Job gains weak in July

Aug 9

Economy stuck in 'soft patch'

Growth in consumer spending falls to 3-year low

Aug 2

Mortgage rates slip below 6%

Economy takes a breather in June

Jul 16

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