Tue, Jun 24 2014, 1:25 PM
RealtyTrac reports a very large increase
in the median price of a home sold in the U.S. in May compared to the median
price in April. There was a...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 12:28 PM
MBS have managed to hold on to most of their gains seen on Friday, even after Existing Home Sales came in stronger than expected. Prices were highe...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 11:20 AM
There were some healthy signals from the
existing home market in May, as sales rose strongly and price growth
moderated. The National Association...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 9:41 AM
"On
Thursday, June 19, issues of latency and connectivity were reported by
the public across multiple Internet Service Providers. The public can
...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 7:39 AM
One of the biggest stories of the past 3 months has been the big miss in first quarter GDP followed by a big downward revision leaving growth at -1.0%...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 5:48 PM
Behind the scenes, bond market activity was very light today--not uncommon for Mondays and most Friday's during the summer months. In the morning, th...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 5:04 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly lower
this morning, but moved higher in the afternoon, ultimately matching
Friday's latest offerings. Despite som...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 3:24 PM
Almost one year ago Mark Palim, Fannie
Mae's Vice President of Applied Economic and Housing Research, analyzed what impact rising
rates might hav...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 1:50 PM
Home price are again approaching the high point they
reached in 2006, before the bottom fell out of the housing market. Black Knight in its Home P...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 12:35 PM
The balance
between loans originated for purchase and for refinancing shifted further
toward the purchase side in May according to the Ellie Mae ...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 12:23 PM
First thing's first. "Boring" isn't necessarily bad when rates are staying fairly close to their lowest levels in a year. That said, could the pas...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 11:31 AM
As we noted last week the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Reserve have scheduled a series
of web seminars on implementat...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 9:45 AM
"Affordability remains a hotly debated topic, especially when
considering both rent affordability and mortgage affordability," or
so says Zillow. ...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 7:42 AM
As bond markets continue to trade in the longest, narrowest sideways trend of the year (2.57-2.66 closing yields since 6/3), and as they continue to d...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 5:19 PM
Look up into any window of the closest apartment building and odds
are you'll see someone living there. National apartment occupancy in May
soared...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 5:03 PM
"The Range" can vary depending on whether we're talking about long or short term. These days, it refers to the a bit of both. The short term range s...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 3:38 PM
Mortgage rates moved modestly lower again today.
While that leaves them a bit higher than the best rates of this year,
it enables an important...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 12:53 PM
Bond markets began the day in stronger territory as the overnight session brought a small amount of post-FOMC follow-through. Realistically, when an ...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 11:51 AM
As
a rule, it isn't good when economists use words like "sluggish" and "lackluster,"
the very terms that crept into the opening paragraph of Fredd...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 10:26 AM
"My
friend has a lifesaving tool in her car which is designed to cut
through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the car trunk."
So...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 7:43 AM
Today's economic data--like many other days in the history of financial markets-- COULD certainly matter. Whether or not it does, depends on where i...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 5:10 PM
Mortgage rates moved very slightly lower
today depending on the lender. Some lenders had passed along fairly
aggressive improvements with mid-...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 5:10 PM
Morning trading was a linear and logical continuation of yesterday's rally. That's not to say bond markets were obviously destined to rally yesterday...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 2:37 PM
A housing industry that remains
focused on originating safe primary mortgages may be overlooking a new purchase
money niche "ready for the tapping...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 12:29 PM
Information
from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) on Tuesday echoing the
trend if not the absolute numbers of data released last we...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 12:16 PM
SunTrust Mortgage, has agreed to pay a total of nearly $1 billion to settle
various complaints alleging abuses in mortgage origination, servicing, ...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 11:57 AM
The morning has been exceedingly quiet so far, with no volatility to speak of. MBS and Treasuries were both approaching the weakest edge of their r...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 11:36 AM
Merlin
Pearson writes, "Statistics are like a lamp post to a drunk. They are
used far more for support than they are for illumination." A survey b...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 9:00 AM
There was a significant drop in mortgage applications, especially for
refinancing, during the week ended June 13 the Mortgage Bankers Association
...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 7:48 AM
Every other Fed meeting, we get the full meal deal of FOMC related events, which include the economic projections and the Fed Chair press conference i...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 5:23 PM
Yesterday's CPI data gave bond markets cold feet heading into today's FOMC Announcement. As we discussed, the selling pressure yesterday wasn't the t...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates moved modestly lower
by the end of the day, but didn't break any new ground on the week.
The afternoon brought the week's main ...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 2:05 PM
nformation received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April
indicates that growth in economic activity has rebounded in recent
months...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 12:19 PM
The overnight session was uneventful for Treasuries, leading to almost perfectly unchanged opening levels in MBS. Bond markets began moving quickly w...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 11:19 AM
Building permits were issued in May at a
rate that was 6.4 percent lower than that of April and housing starts also fell. Housing completions were u...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 11:00 AM
Economists
call it "wage source". In a nutshell, it's how you obtain your cash.
Many work in order to fill their bank accounts; however, in the co...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 7:42 AM
You have to have an industrial strength juicer and be willing to drink from thimbles if you hope to squeeze any interesting conclusions out of finan...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 5:12 PM
The Department of Housing and Urban
Developments Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) has submitted its semi-annual
report of its activities to Con...
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 5:08 PM
Bond markets lost every bit as much ground as they could lose today without actually violating the recent range. In terms of 10yr yields, that's 2....
Tue, Jun 17 2014, 3:43 PM
Mortgage rates erased yesterday's improvement, ending
up back at levels consistent with the middle of last week.
Stronger-than-expected inflat...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 11:49 AM
Relative to Friday's trading ranges, MBS are outperforming Treasuries. Fannie 3.5s are at their highest levels since Tuesday while Treasuries have ...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 10:36 AM
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells
Fargo Housing Market Index narrowed the gap with positive territory this month
with a jump o...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 9:50 AM
Do mortgage lenders and real estate
agents need to form a "truth squad" to combat misconceptions about
homeownership? Freddie Mac's vice presiden...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 9:45 AM
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, who
tracks population movements (and probably phone conversations too..."who
said that?"), there are a few co...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 7:46 AM
The week ahead is busier than last week on most fronts. In terms of economic data, each of the first four days has at least one moderately important ...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 3:53 PM
Last Thursday's gains marked the beginning of the end for the trend toward higher rates from late May. Friday maintained enough of those gains to con...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 3:09 PM
Mortgage rates improved again today despite stronger-than-expected economic data. When economic reports are better than forecast, rates tend to move ...
Mon, Jun 16 2014, 2:24 PM
The House Financial Services Committee
(FSC) Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee appears to be picking up the
pace in its investigation of all...
Fri, Jun 13 2014, 12:42 PM
Sales of new and existing homes in the
previously superheated California market slid again in May. Sales totaled 37,734 houses and condos
statewi...
Fri, Jun 13 2014, 12:40 PM
Bond markets gave back a small chunk of yesterday's rally heading into the overnight session on comments from the Bank of England regarding an acceler...