Wed, Dec 27 2017, 3:38 PM
Mortgage rates had a bad week last week, quickly rising to the highest levels in months. To make matters more frustrating, there weren't any clearly-d...
Wed, Dec 27 2017, 10:19 AM
Pending home sales pulled off a second straight gain in November, but just barely . The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home ...
Wed, Dec 27 2017, 9:32 AM
Private education pays well. There were 58 people making over $1,000,000 per year in total compensation as the presidents of private, non-profit colle...
Wed, Dec 27 2017, 9:13 AM
The National Association of Realtors publishes reports for both Pending and Existing Home Sales. The conventional wisdom is that Pending Sales tend t...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 5:41 PM
Bond markets got off to a seasonally typical start this week with volumes and volatility both virtually nonexistent. There are past instances of vola...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 4:37 PM
Mortgage rates were lifeless today as financial markets drifted sideways. Although rates CAN move during the last week of December when there's an imb...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 11:00 AM
Prices maintained their upward trajectory in October, with gains on a national level outstripping those in September. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 9:21 AM
Welcome to the void--the week that bond markets forgot, and/or the week that bond market participants may wish to forget after 3 and a half more days ...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 9:19 AM
Among the house price indexes covered by MND, the one provided by Black Knight has shown the most consistent pattern of diminishing appreciation in re...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 9:14 AM
Congrats to The Money Source. It is on a major hiring spree to build an in-house ad agency in the greater Detroit area. The marketing team will serve ...
Fri, Dec 22 2017, 5:27 PM
Today created very little--if any--need to think, say, or do things that haven't already been thought, said, or done--at least when it comes to bond t...
Fri, Dec 22 2017, 5:03 PM
Mortgage rates didn't move much today, which is a victory unto itself on a week with 3 of the worse consecutive days of the year. In fact, lenders tha...
Fri, Dec 22 2017, 10:39 AM
New home sales pulled off another surprise in November. Sales had posted monthly gains of 6.2 percent and 14.2 percent in September and October, landi...
Fri, Dec 22 2017, 9:36 AM
If you weren't already noticing that the worst of this week's selling spree was over with yesterday's ground-holding, today's early trading essentia...
Fri, Dec 22 2017, 9:16 AM
What's age got to do with anything? In the new issue of STRATMOR Group's Insights report, Sr. Partner Jim Cameron debunks several of myths many lender...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 5:21 PM
There were several economic reports at 8:30am this morning--names that have some track record of moving markets like GDP, Jobless Claims, and the Phil...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 3:16 PM
Mortgage rates edged just slightly higher again today, capping the sharpest 3-day increase since late June and leaving the average lender more than an...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 12:13 PM
Ellie Mae has picked up indications of what it says it will be watching as a possible trend in the data from its November Origination Insight Report. ...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 10:21 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) House Price Index (HPI) for September slowed to its lowest level since January , 6.3 percent and the mon...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 9:40 AM
Agreement has been reached between the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Department of the Treasury to reinstate a $3 billion capital rese...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 9:29 AM
As we discussed yesterday, the flattening of the yield curve has been a dominant trading theme in 2017. It's also been a "crowded trade" for bond mar...
Thu, Dec 21 2017, 9:15 AM
Welcome to the Winter Solstice (yes, more sunlight ahead of us in the Northern Hemisphere!). Things are slowing down ahead of Christmas, shipping and ...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 4:45 PM
Today was much calmer than yesterday in terms of intraday volatility. The overall trading ranges in 10yr yields and MBS were more than twice as nar...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 2:26 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher today, largely due to momentum in bond markets (which dictate rates) carrying over from yesterday. Trading was far les...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 11:04 AM
Existing home sales pulled off a hat trick in November, and the third successive monthly increase was a substantial one. The National Association of R...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 9:43 AM
Things have gone from "very sideways" to "very bad" for bond markets in less than 48 hours. As of Monday afternoon, this could have been any other ...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 9:36 AM
“Look, if a man says he will fix it, he will. There’s no need to remind him every six months.” Humor aside, it seems that Facebook is fixing things so...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 9:23 AM
Mortgage credit risk has edged up over the last year, but CoreLogic says that it remains well within an acceptable range , comparable to that of loans...
Wed, Dec 20 2017, 9:14 AM
The mortgage volume summary issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ended December 15, and the last before its two-week Christmas hiat...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 5:25 PM
There were no market movers in play today. I'm not trying to be funny or clever. There were no market movers- -at least not in the traditional sens...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 4:47 PM
Mortgage rates surged higher today, ultimately making it back to levels not seen since late October in some cases (depending on the lender). Part of t...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 11:05 AM
The idea that it is a good time to buy a home appears to be losing ground . The National Association of Realtors'® (NAR's) new fourth quarter Housing ...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 9:53 AM
After a surprisingly good report in October, with all three measures of residential construction activity rising significantly, analysts were expectin...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 9:28 AM
It could just be random December trading that ultimately proves to be inconsequential, but every visit to the top of our recent ranges has to be take...
Tue, Dec 19 2017, 9:24 AM
Demographics and politics make interesting bedfellows. There are eight senators who are at least 80-years-old, nearly twice as many as ever before. To...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 5:27 PM
Last Friday I said that bond traders had "had enough" when it came to reacting to every little tax bill headline. That theme held true today, but now...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 5:16 PM
Despite the disruptions from several hurricanes and an expected drag from trade in the fourth quarter, Fannie Mae says it expects 2017 to finish with ...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 5:02 PM
Mortgage rates bounced modestly higher today, bringing the average lender back in line with last Wednesday's levels. Bond markets (which underlie mort...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 10:39 AM
Builder confidence shot up in December, reaching the highest level the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has recorded in 18 years . NAHB sa...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 9:48 AM
While it's not on some economic calendars yet, this Friday will be an "early close" for bond markets, meaning no trading after 2pm ET. Even then, v...
Mon, Dec 18 2017, 9:16 AM
We start the week with something pertaining to words and the internet, both near and dear to all of us. Here’s the New Yorker's cartoon take on the Tr...
Fri, Dec 15 2017, 7:32 PM
Bond traders are increasingly saying "enough already! " when it comes to reacting to every little push and pull in the tug-o-war over the tax bill. ...
Fri, Dec 15 2017, 3:34 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly lower today, despite movement in bond markets that would have suggested otherwise. The paradoxical strength is likely du...
Fri, Dec 15 2017, 11:22 AM
There has been a flurry of news about the two GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the last few weeks. The House Financial Services Committee recently...
Fri, Dec 15 2017, 9:20 AM
Originators, who work with plenty of renters who want to be owners, should know that the Harvard Joint Center tells us that, “We’re finally seeing the...
Fri, Dec 15 2017, 9:15 AM
From time to time, a discussion will start up among MBS Live community members regarding certain habits for certain months of the year. Some popular ...
Thu, Dec 14 2017, 4:55 PM
Bonds began the day in weaker territory partly due to a correction from yesterday's strong run in the afternoon, and partly due to stronger economic...
Thu, Dec 14 2017, 3:51 PM
Mortgage rates held on to yesterday's gains in most cases. Some lenders were even in slightly better shape today, but not enough to have an effect on ...
Thu, Dec 14 2017, 11:17 AM
The use of Automated Valuation Models (AVM) is expected to expand following the announced plans of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to waive the require...
Thu, Dec 14 2017, 9:23 AM
Homebuyers ponied up the highest downpayments on record to purchase homes in the third quarter of 2017. ATTOM Data Solutions' (formerly RealtyTrac) Re...
