Mon, Jun 11 2018, 9:22 AM
Bond markets have weathered the storm of Italian political drama, which created the bulk of volatility over the past 3 weeks. They've considered the ...
Mon, Jun 11 2018, 8:56 AM
Residential lenders aren’t the only ones having a tough time out there. Builder Hovnanian reported a Q2 loss of $9.8 million. The Social Security prog...
Fri, Jun 8 2018, 4:56 PM
What a quiet and boring trading session it was! Well, to be fair, there's still half an hour left as I type this, but most bond market participants m...
Fri, Jun 8 2018, 3:31 PM
Mortgage rates were steady again today, holding on to the improvements seen yesterday afternoon following a surprise "flash rally" in bond markets. Su...
Fri, Jun 8 2018, 10:05 AM
Despite declining consumer confidence about buying a home, Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) hit a second consecutive survey high in ...
Fri, Jun 8 2018, 9:06 AM
The day is young, but the fact that we're starting out with much of yesterday's "flash" rally intact means that new doors are opening for bonds.
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Fri, Jun 8 2018, 8:37 AM
For me this week includes time in Indianapolis and Chicago. Once again, I am impressed by the talent in residential lending – the industry is filled w...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 5:01 PM
Today ended up being all about the early afternoon "flash crash" in bond yields (from 2.94 to 2.884% in fairly short order). While they're not common...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 4:47 PM
Happy Anniversary - or something... It is a decade since the financial crisis and ultimately the Great Recession began. Bear Stearns collapsed in Marc...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 4:24 PM
Mortgage rates were steady to slightly lower today, depending on the lender and the time of day. Rates were higher earlier this morning as bond market...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 11:22 AM
A nine-month search for a replacement for David H. Stevens as president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) ended today with the selecti...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 9:34 AM
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Here's a formula for one of the ways bond markets move: Rates fall based on a particular risky eventuality. ...
Thu, Jun 7 2018, 8:56 AM
Life is full of ups and downs. Some news is devastating, some of it not so much. But remember how bad it felt, that feeling in your stomach, when some...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 5:32 PM
Bonds were weaker right from the start today as the overnight session saw several members of the European Central Bank comment on tapering prospects...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 3:25 PM
Mortgage rates rose today, resuming an upward trend that began last week after political turmoil in Italy began to die down. More simply put, rates ha...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 3:19 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported net pro...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 11:23 AM
A Selling Guide Announcement from Fannie Mae on Tuesday introduced a new initiative for loans secured by manufactured housing. The MH Advantage progra...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 9:53 AM
I owe you an apology. I caused a bit of a sell-off in bond markets today. It all started yesterday afternoon when I called attention to the fact tha...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 8:32 AM
Two companies, Google and Facebook, are dominating the digital side of the marketing business. Six out of every ten dollars spent on digital ads is sp...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 8:11 AM
The dip in mortgage rates reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ended June 1 was small compared to the 10-basis point declin...
Wed, Jun 6 2018, 8:06 AM
Wells Fargo continued to shrink its retail banking footprint this week with the sale of its banking branches in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio...
Tue, Jun 5 2018, 5:23 PM
With European drama subsiding heading into this week and with yesterday seeing a logical move toward weaker levels, it was fair to be worried about mo...
Tue, Jun 5 2018, 4:37 PM
Mortgage rates were little-changed today after rising somewhat quickly over the past 4 business days. This leaves them right on the top dead center of...
Tue, Jun 5 2018, 9:49 AM
The most notable feature of the current trading week continues to be its lack of notable features . There isn't much data on tap (ISM Non-Manufactur...
Tue, Jun 5 2018, 9:19 AM
There is easy money, which in mortgage lending terms would be exemplified by underwriting standards in the 2005-2008 period, and there is tight money,...
Tue, Jun 5 2018, 8:59 AM
Builders & real estate agents are very interested in cost per square foot. How much does it cost to build something in New York City? How about $362 p...
Mon, Jun 4 2018, 5:29 PM
MBS Live folks don't need to be reminded that red is not our favorite color. It connotes bond market losses on the MBS Live dashboard (and losses...
Mon, Jun 4 2018, 4:31 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher , adding onto a trend that began last Wednesday. A day earlier, rates hit their best levels in more than a month due t...
Mon, Jun 4 2018, 10:08 AM
Where were you 3 weeks ago when we were just beginning to discuss Italian political risks? I don't remember where I was, but I definitely know where ...
Mon, Jun 4 2018, 8:54 AM
Doing Good Wells Fargo’s charity work is legendary – more than any other company in the United States. The Mortgage Bankers Association has Project Op...
Mon, Jun 4 2018, 8:20 AM
In an earlier report covering March loan performance, Black Knight's Mortgage Monitor noted that home prices had risen more in the first two months of...
Fri, Jun 1 2018, 9:29 PM
The beginning of this holiday-shortened week was fairly exciting. It was the first major "opening gap" (yields/prices opening a day well into territo...
Fri, Jun 1 2018, 8:28 PM
Mortgage rates move higher today, mostly due to waning political risks in Italy. To be honest, I only really put the jobs data in the headline because...
Fri, Jun 1 2018, 11:24 AM
April turned out to be a solid month for construction . The Census Bureau said that dollar value of new construction activity on residential, non-resi...
Fri, Jun 1 2018, 9:10 AM
Whenever I mention changes in LO compensation versus changes in lender profit margins, my cat Myrtle seems entirely disinterested. (Come to think of i...
Fri, Jun 1 2018, 8:26 AM
The timing and nature of yesterday's Italian headlines created a fair amount of risk for bond markets today. As we discussed yesterday (in the Hudd...
Thu, May 31 2018, 5:08 PM
Today brought resolution (probably) for a problem that had been greatly benefiting bonds and rates. Earlier this week, the prospect of snap electio...
Thu, May 31 2018, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates were effectively unchanged today, despite political developments in Italy providing plenty of justification to move higher. Specificall...
Thu, May 31 2018, 10:10 AM
Pending home sales, like both new and existing home sales reported earlier this month, posted an April loss. The National Association of Realtors® sai...
Thu, May 31 2018, 9:09 AM
Even after yesterday's weakness, bond markets remained in much stronger territory on the week due to the size of Tuesday's move. This is a fairly typ...
Thu, May 31 2018, 9:08 AM
At the recent MBA conference, plenty of discussion focused on non-QM lending. But plenty “off the record” discussions among execs mentioned changing L...
Wed, May 30 2018, 6:09 PM
Back in 2011/2012, EU-related fears had more to do with certain countries being unable to pay their debt and/or general systemic risk relating to Gr...
Wed, May 30 2018, 5:36 PM
Mortgage rates were somewhat higher today as politicians struck a more conciliatory tone in Italy. To be clear, we are indeed talking about mortgage r...
Wed, May 30 2018, 9:06 AM
Plenty of people I know agree with the this Forbes article titled, “We Have Learned Nothing From The Mortgage Market Meltdown.” Builders are reducing ...
Wed, May 30 2018, 8:44 AM
Today begins with yesterday's Italy-inspired mega rally under heavy fire. Compared to last Friday's closing levels, roughly half of the overall gains...
Wed, May 30 2018, 8:39 AM
Buying a home is a process with a lot of moving parts. Do buyers make it more complicated, or even drop out of the process because they tend, for many...
Wed, May 30 2018, 8:07 AM
Although interest rates extended their decline for the second week, the level of mortgage activity failed to respond. The Mortgage Bankers Association...
Tue, May 29 2018, 3:37 PM
Mortgage rates dropped abruptly today as political developments in Italy caused investor panic over the weekend. This is a bit of a complex topic, but...
Tue, May 29 2018, 10:40 AM
It certainly must save time in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller press office that they can reuse essentially the same headline month-after-month. This m...
Tue, May 29 2018, 9:06 AM
Plenty of people I know agree with the this Forbes article titled, “We Have Learned Nothing From The Mortgage Market Meltdown.” For example, certainly...
