Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:59 AM
One of the market themes that has been most noticeable and most reliable post-covid is that of the "stock lever"--our in-house term for the phenomenon...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:52 AM
The interest rates on mortgage loans that closed in June averaged 3.40 percent, down 3 basis points from the average in May according to Ellie Mae's O...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:37 AM
There was another decline in forbearance starts this past week and the number of loans in active plans also fell for the third straight week. Black Kn...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 4:29 PM
The House Financial Service Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on Thursday entitled, "Protecting Homeowners Durin...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 3:59 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower this morning as lenders got caught up with recent improvement in the bond market. The bond market is the primary considerat...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 3:31 PM
The Downside of Ultra Low Rates
Actions and reactions are as true in the bond market as in the natural world...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 10:33 AM
Economists talk about the potential for a V shaped recovery from the pandemic and that is exactly the pattern displayed by the National Association of...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 8:58 AM
I was on the phone yesterday with my psychic who told me, “You will live a long and healthy life if you abstain from anything that brings you joy.” Ok...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 8:31 AM
It used to be that rate watchers and mortgage originators could simply tune in to the economic data on any given day and expect a fairly logical and...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 3:27 PM
Stocks and Bonds Confirm Hyperfocus on Covid Outlook
Coronavirus has been with us for so long and has caused...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 1:02 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is expecting new home sales to spike again in June, based on results of its Builder Application Survey (BAS). T...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 9:48 AM
I woke up this morning trying to remember if I was working where I am living, or living where I am working. “Personal” and “professional” often overla...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:58 AM
Coronavirus has been with us for so long and has caused such a huge paradigm shift that it's easy to lose sight of its importance as a day-to-day mark...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:31 AM
Mortgage application volume increased last week, bouncing back slightly from the prior holiday shortened period. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 4:56 PM
Mortgage rates recovered to some extent today, after moving slightly higher on Friday and yesterday. The bond market (which underlies rate movement) w...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 3:40 PM
The reopening of the economy in several states from the COVID-19 shutdowns has moved Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group to raise...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 3:36 PM
Bonds Surprisingly Resilient After Last Week's Scare
After last week's somewhat scary move higher in rates, ...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 9:23 AM
Here's your life graphically under COVID. Many in our business will argue that homes should not be used as piggy banks, COVID or no COVID. For others ...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 8:49 AM
Once again, stocks and bonds were largely flat in the overnight session and domestic trading begins with both sides of the market close to yesterday's...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 8:22 AM
April's data is here, and CoreLogic is reporting that early stage delinquencies, that is mortgages 30 to 59 days past due, soared to levels even highe...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 3:38 PM
Fundamental Hope But Technical Caution
Fundamentals and technicals represent the two main schools of thought...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 8:59 AM
While in captivity it is important to remember good grooming is important . Good communication is important also. Are salespeople all on the way to ha...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 8:51 AM
Fundamentals and technicals represent the two main schools of thought when it comes to market analysis. Fundamental analysis focuses on all of thi...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:46 PM
It should no longer come as a surprise that the pandemic continues to create never-before-seen circumstances in all corners of society. Here in the ho...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:28 PM
Big Scary Reversal in Bonds (Spoiler Alert: It Wasn't That Scary)
Just as bonds were settling into a nice ne...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:19 AM
Black Knight's weekly report on the numbers of mortgage loans in COVID-19 forbearance plans shows that a decline in those numbers of nearly a half mil...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:07 AM
Bubonic plague in China ? What’s next, frogs falling from the sky? Water turning into blood, darkness for three days? A big bank requiring $1 million ...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:04 AM
Trend channels in financial markets are some of the most basic forms of analysis. They consist of lines drawn along the highs and lows of a charted s...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:25 PM
There are two kinds of headlines about mortgage rates today: those that rely on the weekly survey-based data published each Thursday by Freddie Mac, a...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:23 PM
Credit tightening is becoming more evident according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Its Mortgage Credit Availability Index fell to a readi...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:03 PM
Bonds Making a Case For a New Trend
We've talked a lot about the linear uptrend in bond yields that began in...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 10:57 AM
A new survey by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has found that the vast majority of its members feel as though their businesses are back o...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 9:18 AM
We've talked a lot about the massive rift that opened up between mortgage rates and MBS yields as the pandemic hit markets several months ago. MBS yi...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 9:16 AM
United Airlines may lay off 36,000? Bed, Bath, and Beyond closing 200 stores? Walgreen’s cutting 4,000? Yup. Lower rates won’t save those jobs, but we...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates were unchanged today for the average lender. That means they remain at all-time lows that are even lower than the all-time lows seen du...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 4:07 PM
Bonds Pull Back, But It's Still a Waiting Game
Despite some modest weakness to begin the day, bonds remain s...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 2:22 PM
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) continued to rebound last month from its sharp retreat to near record lows in the Spring. The Index,...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 10:44 AM
Mortgage application volume bounced back into positive territory last week , even though banks and many businesses were closed on Friday for the Indep...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 9:57 AM
Crazy times. Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Rocket Companies filing for an IPO. Genworth Mortgage Insurance completing an excess of ...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 8:49 AM
There really wasn't much by way of riveting new developments on the radar heading into this week. A smattering of Fed speakers and relatively inconse...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 8:37 AM
A study by the Urban Institute (UI) has found a strong correlation between the home price to income ratio in an area and its rate of gentrification. T...
Tue, Jul 7 2020, 4:28 PM
Record High MBS Prices, Record Low Rates. What Next?
Bonds and rates clearly aren't looking at economic data...
Tue, Jul 7 2020, 4:27 PM
Mortgage rates were already at all-time lows yesterday, and had been holding at those levels for at least 3 business days for the average lender. I no...
Tue, Jul 7 2020, 3:26 PM
Did the housing happy talk just get a little less so? CoreLogic's Housing Price Index Forecast (HPI) over the May 2020 to May 2021 window is seeing mo...
Tue, Jul 7 2020, 8:59 AM
This morning analysts are talking about the 5 million people of Melbourne, Australia now under a new 6-week lockdown. Lockdown! In this country, we ha...
Tue, Jul 7 2020, 8:52 AM
Conventional wisdom holds that stocks tend to do better when bonds do worse. The logic is simple. When investors feel more optimistic or more risk-t...
Mon, Jul 6 2020, 3:58 PM
Mortgage rates barely budged for the third straight day, which is welcome news considering they are at all-time lows. The stability comes in spite of ...
Mon, Jul 6 2020, 3:44 PM
Record High MBS Prices, Record Low Rates. What Next?
Bonds and rates clearly aren't looking at economic data...
Mon, Jul 6 2020, 2:13 PM
Despite any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, construction spending is still largely managing to stay ahead of its 2019 levels . The U.S. Census Bure...
Mon, Jul 6 2020, 11:24 AM
Black Knight has again taken a look at the number of Americans who could benefit significantly from refinancing their first mortgages, but the facts a...
