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Welcome to the latest edition of the Agave Home Loans newsletter. Here's a recap of how our December finished up:

• We helped 89 clients close loans for a total of $26,055,118 in loan volume

• The average size of a closed loan was $292,754

• We promoted Ana Meryhew (also head coach of the 8-2 Mesquite High School Girls' soccer team) to Senior Processor

• We had our largest closing month ever through the bi-lingual channel led by Sergio Fernandez

Rates kicked up the last couple months for the first time since the pandemic started. We're moving back to a more normalized market and are continuing to diversify our business with more purchase and cash-out loans. Our team members have stayed resilient, solution focused, and creative in finding ways to help our clients save money and achieve home ownership. Challenge and adversity are the times we grow the most and where opportunities often present themselves. We look forward to seizing them and impacting our communities at greater levels long into the future.

Passing the Torch (For Now)

For any of our agents, partners, or clients that live in metro Phoenix, we're going to be hosting a picnic event in Tempe on February 19th. We'd love to see some of you in person and ask that you bring canned food, cleaning supplies, or full size hygiene products for donation to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. We'll also have catering, music, corn-hole, and more! Please RSVP using this link http://evite.me/wjwqGzFdT2. The highly anticipated January edition of the Agave Home Loans Newsletter will feature a new voice. Ryan McCormack, one of my favorite people in the office, wrote this week's edition of "Gottlieb's Goodies" about his journey from Scotland to America. We'll call it, "McCormack's Munchies."

- Marshall Gottlieb, CEO

How Did That Happen?

When I grew up in Scotland, I always envisioned running the hills and the glens and raising a family in a small village. Having lived in Scotland all my life, I'd never considered visiting America, let alone living there. My mind went to the grandeur of the USA and I had the same impression of it as many other people do; big, vast and with a McDonald's on every corner. In around 2009, I travelled to meet a friend who had recommended I visit the southern US. He said I should try things like fried okra, a baseball game, and the rodeo to name but a few. I never imagined visiting another country so far across the “pond,” never mind living here. However, after meeting my future wife, I decided to leap and settle then never looked back. To give you some perspective on where I was moving from, you can fit 50 Scotland’s into the U.S. and with a population of 5.4 million people, the State of Arizona has more people than my entire homeland! I’ve found there to be a strong Scottish heritage here. Many towns in America were nostalgically named after the places Scottish immigrants had left behind. There are eight Aberdeen’s, eight Edinburgh’s, 21 Glasgow’s, and eight places simply known as Scotland. In addition, many places in the U.S. have Scottish clan names with areas named Campbell, Cameron, Crawford and Douglas. You’ll find many Scottish-founded towns and cities across the States honor those historic links by staging annual Highland games and hosting clan gatherings. Though I’ve been here for several years, I still can't believe I live in America. As much as I’m in awe of this great country, it's a different world from Scotland. Those differences sometimes make me nostalgic for my homeland. I miss the four seasons and those long summer evenings when it hardly gets dark. I miss the daily papers and the local TV and I long for the occasional roll and square sausage. Scotland's food is something I crave. I've had numerous arguments with folks about it. I’m surprised that so many people despise the cuisine and talk about haggis and deep-fried Mars bars! There is nothing that compares to the Scottish wild game and meats and I am glad to promote it wherever I can. Our food is steeped in deep tradition, passed from generation to generation. The other thing I miss about home is the people and the Scottish banter. I look forward to enjoying these things again as I hope to return to Scotland once or twice a year. I’m sure there will be a sentimental pull that will make me wonder if life would have been better if I stayed at home. When you're in Scotland with your closest friends and family, you have a strong want for more of the same. One thing is for sure, Americans will always find a warm welcome in Scotland just as I have here.

- Ryan McCormack, Executive Mortgage Broker

Housing inventory is low and going even lower.New builds on average take 6 months to build. With labor and supply shortages, construction is taking over 9 months.The Fed has signaled rates to go up multiple times in 2022 which is already pricing into the market.

Source: Rocket Fuel

AGAVE HOME LOANS

MORTGAGE BROKERAGE

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