Wed, May 27 2020, 9:17 AM
Today's first chart shows the trend we've been following in 10yr Treasury yields. It is pointed in an unfriendly direction (i.e. "up"), but at a fair...
Wed, May 27 2020, 9:05 AM
Making the rounds is, “The spread of Covid-19 is based on two factors. #1: How dense the population is. #2: How dense the population is.” As a nation,...
Tue, May 26 2020, 4:09 PM
Mortgage rates hit new all-time lows last week. In fact, for many lenders, records were broken on more than one day. That raised the risk of a bounce ...
Tue, May 26 2020, 11:37 AM
New home sales, rather than dropping like a rock, rose 0.6 percent in April according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urba...
Tue, May 26 2020, 11:11 AM
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hobble home sales in many locations, home prices continued to increase. the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (F...
Tue, May 26 2020, 9:07 AM
No need to overcomplicate the current narrative: the overall financial market is attempting to balance the reopening of the economy with the risk of C...
Tue, May 26 2020, 8:43 AM
I doubt if I have ever pressed “7” or “8” on my microwave oven keypad. Speaking of 7 & 8 (I know, a weak segue), originators are keenly aware of what ...
Fri, May 22 2020, 3:31 PM
There's no shortage of bad news when it comes to the economy and the housing market. But that's no surprise considering the circumstances. The sheer s...
Fri, May 22 2020, 12:34 PM
The years-long downward trend of mortgage delinquencies appears to have come to an abrupt end in April. Black Knight, in its "first look" at the month...
Fri, May 22 2020, 9:54 AM
The number of homeowners in mortgage forbearance plans continues to increase, reaching 4.75 million by May 19. This is 9.0 percent of all active borro...
Fri, May 22 2020, 9:37 AM
Treasuries started out stronger after overnight drama between China and Hong Kong caused a "risk-off" trade (i.e. sell stocks, buy bonds). MBS contin...
Fri, May 22 2020, 8:52 AM
The Friday before a three-day weekend (honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military)! Can’t you just feel that anxiousness t...
Thu, May 21 2020, 3:50 PM
Mortgage rates were mostly steady today for most lenders. Those who changed generally did so in a friendly direction. Either way, that means today's r...
Thu, May 21 2020, 11:57 AM
Existing home sales fell hard in April, the numbers coming in about where analysts expected them but breaking a nine-month string of annual gains. The...
Thu, May 21 2020, 10:16 AM
Interest rates on closed loans continued to decline in April, falling from 3.65 percent in March to 3.48 percent according to the Origination Insight ...
Thu, May 21 2020, 10:13 AM
Maybe all of the talk about ending the GSE's long term incarceration in conservatorship is more than talk this time. Earlier this week both Freddie Ma...
Thu, May 21 2020, 9:03 AM
Treasuries held onto yesterday's gains in the overnight session and are starting the day in slightly better shape (MBS are roughly unchanged). This m...
Thu, May 21 2020, 9:00 AM
Some lenders and vendors are easing back into offices, or at least planning voluntary phases. (Hmmm… wear a mask and have 2 per elevator, or work from...
Wed, May 20 2020, 5:53 PM
Mortgage rates fell again today. Whereas yesterday's improvements arrived in choppy fashion only after many lenders quoted higher rates in the morning...
Thu, Mar 26 2020, 12:50 PM
Flexibility seems to be the keyword as government agencies try to adjust to a lot of new realities. The Federal Housing Finance agency has already emp...
Wed, May 20 2020, 11:10 AM
With the number of homeowners under forbearance plans nearing 10 percent of all of those having a mortgage, a Lending Tree survey indicates that most ...
Wed, May 20 2020, 9:50 AM
I've been mentioning MBS outperformance and underperformance quite a bit recently, but what do these terms really mean and why do we care?
First off...
Wed, May 20 2020, 8:47 AM
Jury trial by Zoom? Leave it to Texas to give it a shot. Michigan and Indiana are now offering the bar exam online for aspiring attorneys. Out of Penn...
Wed, May 20 2020, 8:25 AM
Purchase mortgage applications extended their recent run of gains through the week ended May 15. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Purch...
Tue, May 19 2020, 4:50 PM
Mortgage rates were mixed this morning, depending on the lender. The more responsive lenders had already bumped rates higher yesterday in response to ...
Tue, May 19 2020, 1:43 PM
Homeowners who have been granted forbearance from making full payments on their GSE guaranteed loans during the COVID-19 crisis may still be able to r...
Tue, May 19 2020, 10:16 AM
The April residential construction numbers are, of course, horrible. But they aren't out of line with expectations, and builders did continue to plan ...
Tue, May 19 2020, 9:34 AM
It’s one thing to have confusion & bickering over whose turn it is to put the Scrabble tiles away face down after the game. It’s a whole different lev...
Tue, May 19 2020, 9:17 AM
Yesterday was pretty rough for bond markets as 10yr yields rose the better part of 10bps in fairly short order. It was the worst day of selling in ...
Tue, May 19 2020, 8:35 AM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) have taken what each is calling an important step toward ending their 12 years of operating under conservatorshi...
Mon, May 18 2020, 4:44 PM
Mortgage rates hit all-time lows on Friday, based on the average rate for a top tier conventional 30yr fixed loan scenario. At that time, I raised the...
Mon, May 18 2020, 4:43 PM
IBuyers, that new label for real estate agencies that buy homes from sellers rather than just listing them, are back in the hunt. Redfin announced lat...
Mon, May 18 2020, 10:39 AM
Nearly all financial indicators took a hit last month as unemployment measures shot higher, businesses shut down, and consumers and their families sel...
Mon, May 18 2020, 9:05 AM
Bond markets will close early this Friday and will remain fully closed next Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. 3.5-day weekends can often see a shi...
Mon, May 18 2020, 8:48 AM
“All of our dogs think we quit our jobs to spend more time with them while all of our cats think we got fired for being the loser they always knew we ...
Fri, May 15 2020, 4:34 PM
As of yesterday, we knew mortgage rates were already in line with their lowest levels ever . It wouldn't have taken much to set the record today and i...
Fri, May 15 2020, 11:42 AM
Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) group says it expects the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 35 percent (annualized) i...
Fri, May 15 2020, 10:42 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says applications for financing new home purchases were down 25 percent in April compared to March and by 12 pe...
Fri, May 15 2020, 9:29 AM
I messed up yesterday, not knowing “Bike to Work” Day was postponed until September. Getting out of the bedroom was okay on my Schwinn Varsity, but co...
Fri, May 15 2020, 9:17 AM
As recently as April 21st, the fate of the mortgage market was still highly uncertain and that uncertainty was readily apparent in the ridiculously w...
Fri, May 15 2020, 9:10 AM
In its May 5 report on the number of COVID-19 forbearance plans in effect, Black Knight said the rate of new plans had slowed , but speculated they co...
Thu, May 14 2020, 3:49 PM
Mortgage rates move lower again today. Combined with yesterday's drop, the improvement has been significant for top tier rate quotes in the lower rang...
Thu, May 14 2020, 11:10 AM
The national delinquency rate rose significantly in the first quarter of 2020, driven largely by a surge in the early stage rates. The Mortgage Banker...
Thu, May 14 2020, 10:12 AM
As we race toward the Memorial Day holiday on the 25th, for the first time in history we can save the human race by laying in front of the TV and doin...
Thu, May 14 2020, 8:58 AM
The recent trading range has been reinforced after a strong show of support in this week's Treasury auctions. Treasuries were under more pressure hea...
Thu, May 14 2020, 8:18 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and both GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) have announced a new option for homeowners in COVID-19 forbearanc...
Wed, May 13 2020, 4:02 PM
Mortgage rates improved today, on average, but things can vary quite a bit depending on the lender. Several lenders are back in line with their lowest...
Wed, May 13 2020, 9:09 AM
Remember the old days at a birthday party when someone would blow on the cake before everyone ate it? Things are certainly changing, including process...
Wed, May 13 2020, 9:00 AM
In ancient financial market times (let's say any time before 2009), a massive economic shock resulted in a pervasive move lower in both stock prices a...
Wed, May 13 2020, 8:23 AM
Last week was yet another good one for purchase mortgage activity and refinancing, while continuing to fade, was still at double its pace of a year ag...
