Wed, Aug 22 2018, 3:45 PM
Mortgage rates haven't really moved for 9 straight business days. Some lenders have seen microscopic improvements during that time, but the average le...
Wed, Aug 22 2018, 11:41 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has pulled the plug on pilot programs run by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) to finance instituti...
Wed, Aug 22 2018, 10:53 AM
Existing home sales posted their fourth straight loss in July and have dropped to their slowest pace since February 2016. The National Association of ...
Wed, Aug 22 2018, 9:25 AM
News regarding Cohen's plea deal came out right as futures markets were closing yesterday. There were only 15-20 minutes for a reaction, and we wou...
Wed, Aug 22 2018, 9:08 AM
Now that we’re more than halfway through the third quarter, how’s it shaping up for lenders? Yes, the industry has reduced its ranks, therefore cuttin...
Wed, Aug 22 2018, 8:07 AM
Last week's mortgage application activity was the best since early July as interest rates for most products drifted lower for the second week. The Mor...
Tue, Aug 21 2018, 4:47 PM
The S&P 500 hit a record intraday high today (just over 2873.22 compared to the previous high of 2872.87). In other words, it wasn't a triumphant s...
Tue, Aug 21 2018, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates were generally unchanged again today although several lenders were in just slightly better territory. That makes this the 8th straight ...
Tue, Aug 21 2018, 11:42 AM
The Treasury Department has recommended some sweeping changes for consumer financial services including some directly impacting the mortgage industry ...
Tue, Aug 21 2018, 8:56 AM
With yields touching the lowest levels in more than a month yesterday, there are two distinct cases to be made for the path ahead. In the more pessi...
Tue, Aug 21 2018, 8:45 AM
What can keep interest rates low in the United States? A slow economy. What can cause higher rates? Inflation. To no one’s surprise, U.S. tariffs have...
Mon, Aug 20 2018, 5:31 PM
When it comes to financial markets, the definition for "jawboning" is a bit looser than normal as it also encompasses market movement that occurs simp...
Mon, Aug 20 2018, 4:59 PM
Mortgage rates were almost perfectly unchanged again today, meaning they haven't really changed in more than a week. All this despite a rather noticea...
Mon, Aug 20 2018, 3:29 PM
Irving Berlin once wrote, "The song might be over, but the melody lingers on." That, according to a paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francis...
Mon, Aug 20 2018, 9:12 AM
The frustrating thing about weeks that are normally vacation-heavy is that the resulting lack of volume and liquidity can leave bonds in a position to...
Mon, Aug 20 2018, 8:55 AM
In my travels around the States, I see that some lenders are nervous. Yes, margins appear to have, for the most part, stopped compressing dramatically...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 5:30 PM
10yr yields ended the week at almost exactly where they began. With the exception of Tuesday, bonds closed within 1.5bps of each other on the other 4...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 4:29 PM
Mortgage rates were almost perfectly unchanged today. That leaves them right in line with last Friday's levels. I devoted a considerable number of wor...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 11:41 AM
Fannie Mae's monthly Economic Development papers always have the best headlines, pithy and to the point. The August one reads. "Growth Picks Up as Exp...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 10:22 AM
It may end up being a slow, summertime Friday with the news cycle calming down relative to earlier in the week, not to mention the fact that its peak ...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 9:03 AM
Loan performance continued to improve in the second quarter. The overall delinquency rate on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to a seasona...
Fri, Aug 17 2018, 8:55 AM
Capital markets folks know that there are billions of dollars of outstanding 5, 6, 7, and even 8% securities filled with high interest-rate loans. LOs...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 5:13 PM
Treasuries were weaker at the start of the overnight session as renewed US/China trade negotiations propelled global equities markets higher. The h...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 3:31 PM
Be careful what you read--or perhaps, who you trust--about mortgage rates today. There's a lot of misinformation out there. Don't be mad. No one is ou...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 12:33 PM
Purchase loans held on to the June share of 71 percent of closed loans in July which remains the highest share in the seven-year history of Ellie Mae'...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 10:34 AM
I found myself driving in the truck for more than an hour yesterday evening--long enough to hear the news cycle repeated several times. During that t...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 10:15 AM
As analysts had predicted, both housing permits and starts recovered , albeit only slightly, in July after a poor showing the previous month. The U.S....
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 8:56 AM
Trillions of dollars of securities are tied to LIBOR, but the London Interbank Offered Rate is scheduled to be phased out at the end of 2021. Companie...
Thu, Aug 16 2018, 8:05 AM
It shouldn't be news to anyone that the homeownership rate of the Millennial generation continues to be anemic. While it has improved slightly since 2...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 4:01 PM
Headlines continue overstating the connection between US market movements and the financial drama in Turkey. Today was especially damaging to the cas...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 1:29 PM
Mortgage rates fell only modestly today despite a much stronger move in broader bond markets. I spend a lot of time espousing the fact that rates are ...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 10:42 AM
Rising concerns about costs and labor shortages continue to take a toll on home builder sentiment according to the August Housing Market Index (HMI). ...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 9:45 AM
From New York, traders have been looking east for at least some level of inspiration from Turkish market volatility. As we've discussed exhaustively,...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 9:13 AM
Bond prices and mortgage rates, like nearly every commodity, are driven by supply and demand. I mention this because early last week prices of US gove...
Wed, Aug 15 2018, 8:09 AM
It was another week of decline for mortgage applications as those for home purchase slid for the fifth week in a row. The overall volume of applicatio...
Tue, Aug 14 2018, 4:30 PM
Bonds began the day in moderately weaker territory as Turkish tensions eased overnight. That certainly wasn't the only game in town as far as market ...
Tue, Aug 14 2018, 3:04 PM
Mortgage rates were sideways to slightly higher today, depending on the lender. With the exception of the past two days, this leaves us at the best le...
Tue, Aug 14 2018, 11:14 AM
The effects of Hurricane Irma continue to be felt in the Southeast, with Florida the only state to report an increase in its delinquency rate in May. ...
Tue, Aug 14 2018, 9:24 AM
Turkish Lira bounced in the overnight session--not in any epic fashion, but enough to result in a bit of spillover for stocks/bonds. 10yr yields rose...
Tue, Aug 14 2018, 8:56 AM
A Zen master visiting NYC approaches a hot dog vendor and says, "Make me one with everything." The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands it to the ...
Mon, Aug 13 2018, 5:29 PM
Another day, another chance for market watchers and pundits of all types to make mountains out of Turkish molehills. Yes, the financial crisis in Tur...
Mon, Aug 13 2018, 5:03 PM
Mortgage rates stayed steady at the lowest levels in more than 3 weeks as financial markets are still accounting for additional risks relating to Turk...
Mon, Aug 13 2018, 9:34 AM
Did anyone else have to sit through the drug addiction video (or was it a book?) in grade school (or was it middle school?) where the main character k...
Mon, Aug 13 2018, 8:54 AM
Don’t think that correct mortgage documentation is important? Think again, or ask Citigroup. The Federal Reserve said Friday it had fined Citigroup $8...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 5:25 PM
Tired of hearing about Turkey yet? This is what happens when fairly quiet markets are interrupted by a thunderous roar from an unexpected place. News...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 4:47 PM
Mortgage rates , and indeed most interest rates, are tied to movement in the bond market. In turn, bonds tend to benefit when big, scary stuff is shak...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 12:41 PM
An aging housing stock is usually thought of as a problem. Older homes can be more expensive to maintain and easily fall into enough disrepair to be a...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 10:08 AM
Turkey (the country, not the lunch meat) is the 17th biggest economy in the world in terms of GDP. That's roughly 20% bigger than the next closest co...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 8:51 AM
This week in Salt Lake City, mPower hosted an event at the Lenders One Summer Conference, drawing nearly 400 people. The executive panel, led by MBA's...
Fri, Aug 10 2018, 8:06 AM
We now have an unfortunate sign that the recovery is complete. The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) says housing affordability is the lowes...
