Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:34 AM
In the day just past, both stocks and bonds showed a greater predisposition to react to trade-related headlines (more so in stocks, but noticeable in ...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 5:33 PM
Stop me if you've heard this one before: bonds have been trading in a mostly sideways, consolidative range ahead of what should prove to be key events...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:19 PM
Mortgage rates rose to the week's highest levels yesterday, but they moved back down today . Although there have been slightly better days over the pa...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 3:46 PM
A household's decision between buying a home and renting one is being increasingly determined by its student loan debt and childcare cost burdens acco...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 10:22 AM
Pending home sales got back on track in May , increasing by 1.1 percent after a 1.5 percent setback in April. The National Association of Realtors® (N...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 9:32 AM
Did you know that in 2018 the U.S. birth rate dropped for the fourth consecutive year? In fact the number of people born in the United States last yea...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 8:43 AM
In the day just past, bond markets weakened at a reasonably quick pace. The initial motivation was a headline regarding the prospects of a US/China t...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 5:22 PM
Things have been bright and sunny for the bond market without any troubling exceptions since mid-April. During that time we've only seen 10yr yields ...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates hadn't moved much since last Friday--a good thing considering those levels were in line with the lowest levels in a long time. The grou...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:59 AM
In the day just past, bonds extended the gains seen on Monday with 10yr yields hitting 1.98% before encountering resistance. The gains are most readi...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:44 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 7.5 percent in May , increasing from 6.2 percent t...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:35 AM
When I grow up, I want to own… 16,000 single family homes? Yes, here’s an article about how artificial intelligence has helped a landlord, and fund, a...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:08 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, managed a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percen...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 5:38 PM
Bonds were roughly unchanged overnight but soon began to improve at the CME and NYSE opening bells. Weak economic data at 10am didn't hurt the rally,...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 5:11 PM
Mortgage rates were little-changed again today, despite moderate improvement in the broader bond market. Although it's MBS (the mortgage-backed securi...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 10:51 AM
It was another disappointing month for new home sales , but due entirely to a sharp decline in those sales in the West. The U.S. Census Bureau and the...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 10:48 AM
The two sets of price indices released on Tuesday diverged again. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices continue to show declining appreciation while...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 9:25 AM
In the day just past, bonds returned from the weekend with an unexpected fervor--at least in terms of outright improvement in yields. Looking beneath...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 9:08 AM
Guys with an eyepatch and three fingers sell the best fireworks. Who does the best job selling mortgage products to consumers? Regulators, Agencies, a...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 8:21 AM
The annual State of the Nation's Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University is the latest vehicle for sound...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 4:59 PM
Friday was tense for the bond market, with selling pressure that was just big enough to cause concern about a bigger correction, and buying support ...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates were generally flat today, depending on the lender. Some were noticeably better while others were a hair worse. In both cases, rates ar...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 11:27 AM
Mortgage prepayment rates have continued to rise as interest rates move lower. Black Knight says prepayments increased by 24.31 percent in May compare...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 9:32 AM
I start the last week of June in Park City, Utah at a STRATMOR meeting and with a correction. In discussing tax laws in Saturday’s commentary I wrote,...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 9:19 AM
In the week just past, bonds were preoccupied with central bank communications. Wednesday's Fed announcement was going to be the only game in town, b...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 6:46 PM
Mortgage rates have had an impressive run --the best since 2011, in fact, when it comes to total peak to trough movement. That winning streak might no...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 6:46 PM
The bond market took an entire day to reiterate what it told us yesterday afternoon. Simply put: it's not interested in rallying much more than it al...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 12:59 PM
After the housing crisis and faced with a flood of insurance claims, FHA and the Department of Justice responded with enforcement efforts against lend...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 11:22 AM
Existing home sales broke out of a two-month slump in May, rising by 2.5 percent compared to April and beating, by a considerable margin, analysts' co...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 10:16 AM
In the day just past, bonds initially extended the post-Fed gains with 10yr yields briefly hitting 1.973% before bouncing to end unchanged on the day....
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 9:06 AM
That mortgage prices change every day, and often during the day, is about as surprising as sheriffs finding marijuana on Willie Nelson’s tour bus. Pri...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 6:41 PM
A break below a big psychological technical level in bond yields can be a great thing to behold, but it can also be a signal that it's time for bonds ...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 6:05 PM
Mortgage rates plunged today as the bond market extended its positive reaction to yesterday's Fed announcement. The Fed doesn't set mortgage rates, bu...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 12:03 PM
While the nations delinquency rate declined in March, to 4.0 percent from 4.3 percent a year earlier, CoreLogic notes that 21 states and 166 of the la...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 10:37 AM
If the rumors about housing in Silicon Valley are true, it is probably hard to recruit new employees if they fear they will have to live in an RV in W...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 10:17 AM
Freddie Mac is announcing a new loan program to help address the need for affordable housing and encourage the renovation of older homes. The company ...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 10:13 AM
“Enable” is such a vague, over-used tech term. The same with “repurpose.” But over the next 10 years Google is going to “repurpose” (aka, re-zone) a l...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 8:58 AM
In the day just past, bonds were primarily concerned with reacting to the Fed announcement, press conference, and updated economic projections. Even ...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 8:30 AM
Loans originated in May carried lower mortgage rates t han the previous month for the 5 th consecutive time according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insig...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 6:48 PM
Mortgage rates reacted favorably to today's Federal Reserve announcement and press conference--today's key events. But that doesn't mean every lender ...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 6:35 PM
As expected, today was all about the Fed-related events. Yields moved exactly as far we thought they might based on the Day Ahead, AND in a friendl...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 2:02 PM
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March May indicates that the labor market remains strong and that economic acti...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 11:12 AM
The second quarter HOME (Housing Opportunities and Market Experience) survey from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) appears to indicate that...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 9:35 AM
In the day just past, bonds surged to the best levels since 2017, with 10yr yields coming within 0.002% of the lowest yields since Nov 2016. The key ...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 8:51 AM
Good loan officers pay attention to demographics. For example, according to a new report from the United Nations, the population of the planet could r...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 8:13 AM
Despite appearances, the low-rate spurred rally in mortgage applications reported last week didn't really go "poof" this week. Activity was still stro...
Tue, Jun 18 2019, 5:34 PM
This week's big to-do had been and continues to be tomorrow's Fed announcement, press conference, and updated forecasts. The Fed's European counterpa...
Tue, Jun 18 2019, 2:38 PM
Mortgage rates have generally been moving sideways for the past 2 weeks. This has accomplished a twofold goal of coming to terms with the strong gains...
Tue, Jun 18 2019, 10:24 AM
Residential construction figures had been expected to, at a minimum, hold the fort in May after a mixed report in April. While revisions to the April ...
Tue, Jun 18 2019, 9:34 AM
In the day just past, bonds did absolutely nothing new or interesting. Yields continued to trade in a narrow, sideways range--one that has persisted ...
