Wed, Sep 20 2017, 2:04 PM
(Additions underlined, deletions struck through)
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June July indicates that the...
Wed, Sep 20 2017, 10:53 AM
August was yet another disappointing month for existing home sales. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) says those sales were down for the fou...
Wed, Sep 20 2017, 10:27 AM
UCD Information As announced in September 2016,the Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) mandate remains September 25, 2017Lenders who can deliver the UCD are...
Wed, Sep 20 2017, 8:52 AM
Overall mortgage application activity diminished significantly during the week ended September 15, but refinancing continued to hold its own, represen...
Wed, Sep 20 2017, 8:33 AM
Much like an actor can get lost in a role and take things a bit too far, bond markets played the part of "a market undergoing a correction" a little ...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 5:33 PM
While MBS managed to remain 1 tick in positive territory today, Treasury yields were higher on the day and the overall mood in bond markets managed ...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 4:36 PM
Mortgage rates remained unchanged today, on average. This keeps them in line with their highest levels in more than a month, though admittedly, there ...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 1:42 PM
Jumbo refinances led the way as mortgage fraud risk posted another gain in the second quarter of 2017. CoreLogic reports that overall risk, as measure...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 10:03 AM
Residential construction outcomes in August were mixed, with permitting enjoying a strong comeback after more than a 4 percent downturn in July, but h...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 9:15 AM
Ginnie, FHA and VA News Lender updates regarding Texas and Florida are quieting down slightly, so let's play some catch up on government programs. Gin...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 8:54 AM
Ahoy ye salty dogs sailing the high seas of the mortgage world. Another year has come and gone without any grand preparations for Talk Like a Pirate ...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 4:49 PM
Bonds got off to a weaker start on this Fed week, and there weren't any convenient scapegoats in sight. That said, there were a few caveats. Most ...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 3:55 PM
Mortgage rates resumed their recent uptrend today, after taking a quick break to end the week last Friday. The result is another push up to the highes...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 12:21 PM
A new study is providing more evidence that student debt is disrupting the lifecycle of the housing market. The survey, conducted jointly by the Natio...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 10:36 AM
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which ravaged Texas and Florida respectively, are taking at least some of the blame for diminishing builder confidence in ...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 9:29 AM
In the literal wake of a second major hurricane in as many weeks, Black Knight Financial Services is again warning of some potentially disastrous outc...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 9:23 AM
Saturday's commentary contained a letter from a reader saying, "Dodd Frank may have added more systematic risk than anyone had previously considered, ...
Mon, Sep 18 2017, 9:04 AM
Wednesday's Fed Announcement is one of the best-telegraphed in Fed history. Multiple speakers--including Yellen herself--have all but promised that t...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 5:09 PM
Between the overnight session and domestic trading hours, the following voices tried to get inside the head of bond markets:
A North Korean miss...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 4:41 PM
Mortgage rates were steady to slightly lower on average today, confirming the end of a somewhat abrupt correction from last week's 2017 lows. In other...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 11:11 AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPB) does not provide guidance to the financial institutions it regulates. Instead it has evolved into a re...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 9:25 AM
Florida is sometimes called, “God’s waiting room.” The area, tragically, has seen its share of destruction & death this month, but the airports are ba...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 9:13 AM
Granted, the headline of today's commentary will be lost on those who aren't reasonably well-versed in Monty Python, but it was worth the risk to ente...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 5:10 PM
We've been steadfast in characterizing this week's sell-off as a "correction" to the strong rally that preceded it. One might have argued that the ri...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 2:51 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today, despite resilience in underlying bond markets. If you were to ask bonds, they'd vote for rates remaining flat--well...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 9:21 AM
Disaster-related news continues to be front-and-center for obvious reasons. HUD announced it will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Fl...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 8:28 AM
Yesterday morning's chart is just as germane for today, perhaps more so. It shows how bonds have reacted to CPI data over the past few months. Altho...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 4:15 PM
Treasury yields hit their highest levels in exactly 3 weeks today with little apparent motivation. Indeed, volumes remained lower than recent average...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 3:13 PM
Mortgage rates held steady today, and were slightly lower in some cases. That's not entirely logical at first glance because the bonds that dictate mo...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 1:58 PM
As homeowners in Houston struggle to dry out and rebuild, they may also struggle to make payments on their mortgages. New estimates suggest at least 3...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 10:13 AM
CoreLogic reported on Tuesday that the national mortgage delinquency rate in June was again the lowest in nearly a decade . The company's Loan Perform...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 9:25 AM
I do my share of traveling (California Monday, Ohio yesterday, Tennessee today & tomorrow) and see how the residential lending environment changes in ...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 8:53 AM
Today's only relevant economic data is the Producer Price Index (PPI)--an inflation metric at the wholesale level. Although inflation is back in the...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 4:42 PM
Today could be viewed at least 2 ways if you're a fan of low rates. On one hand, you might despair to see that rates are continuing higher after bo...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 4:10 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher at a reasonably abrupt pace today as last week's themes have been completely reversed. What themes are those? Generall...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 11:21 AM
Last year Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced that their implementation of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) would continue through the en...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 11:21 AM
If anything could be worse than half of the adults in the country having their personal and credit information hacked and stolen, it could be the way ...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 9:28 AM
Lender and Investor Disaster Updates Conditions are subject to change; check with investors if you have questions. NewLeaf has temporarily ceased fund...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 8:53 AM
Yesterday was the warning shot and today could see confirmation that bonds are indeed bouncing. Actually, it's probably more appropriate to view ...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 5:22 PM
Mortgage rates finally had a bad day , but everything's relative. This sort of bad day leaves the average lender quoting rates that would have been th...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 5:22 PM
We'd been in the throes of a risk-related rally for several weeks that crescendoed last week on a combination of North Korea and natural disasters. ...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 9:56 AM
While Irma is battering the Florida coast and costing untold billions in damages, Black Knight Financial Services released information about the ultim...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 9:29 AM
Builder chatter? Builders in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida now have a choice: build new homes or help repair existing stock. Labor will be in short su...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 8:50 AM
Bond markets are beginning the week in a defensive stance after insurance analysts report expected Irma-related losses to be lower than originally f...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 5:26 PM
With an absence of significant economic events and the storm of the century bearing down on the Southeast, trading activity was understandably a bit...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 4:58 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly lower today, despite moderate weakness in underlying bond markets. This would typically coincide with higher rates, but m...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 11:32 AM
In response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession, some central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, put some unconv...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 9:29 AM
A large earthquake in Mexico, damage in Southern Texas from Hurricane Harvey, and, although Irma has been downgraded, mandatory evacuations in the Mia...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 9:22 AM
Bonds have been on a tear recently , easily breaking to the lowest yields of the year this week after some exploratory attempts last week. Geopoliti...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 4:31 PM
2 months ago, today's European Central Bank announcement looked like it would be a big deal insofar as it would be the venue for the ECB's first off...
