Fri, Aug 6 2010, 9:17 AM
AFTER THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION REPORT: Stock futures sold, the dollar declined vs. a basket of currencies, oil prices plummeted, gold looks great, and...
Fri, Aug 6 2010, 9:15 AM
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the July Employment Situation Report. The results were disappointing.From the release:Total nonfarm payrol...
Fri, Aug 6 2010, 5:11 PM
Mortgage rates are unchanged on a week over week basis, 4.25% is still as good as it gets. Borrowers considering a refinance should submit a loan app...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 12:32 PM
I wish I could say all is quiet with the investors out there - but I can't. So if you don't care about underwriting and policy changes, reminders, an...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 10:17 AM
This morning one of my buddies shared a story with me. He had a loan officer ask him if it was possible to offer 4.125% to one of his consumers. Unfor...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 8:19 AM
Ninety minutes before the bell, Dow futures are up 15 points to 10,650 and S&P 500 futures are 0.50 points at 1,124.75. The 2-year TSY note yield is l...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 7:25 PM
The official Employment Situation report is slated to be released this Friday at 8:30am eastern. This event holds the most potential to move mortgage ...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 2:29 PM
RISK REPORT: Borrowers who are on a timeline of less than 30-days to closing face the most interest rate risk. The farther out your closing date is, t...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 1:15 PM
The Department of the Treasury has announced the second round of awards under its 4HM or Help for the Hardest-Hit Housing Market Fund established by P...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 12:11 PM
Countrywide Settles Suit But Admits No Wrongdoing; How Secondary Prices Loans; Earnings from PHH, Radian, Ally; Chatter on Fed MBS Purchases
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 10:47 AM
Morning data is behind us and the market is making an originator unfriendly directional move...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 8:51 AM
As the dust continues to settle and the reality of a long, slow economic recovery sets in, one economic metric in particular will set the tone for the...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 8:09 AM
Equity futures are trading lower this morning and interest rates are flat ahead of key employment and services data this morning. “Despite yesterday’s...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:31 PM
Refinance demand continues to bolster the mortgage market as purchases account for only 22% of new loan apps. Home buyers are utilizing the FHA for lo...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:09 PM
A new Fannie Mae website for borrowers provides anonymous and non-judgmental assistance for borrowers who are in difficulty with their mortgages. The...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:03 PM
There is always an opportunity to grow profits without taking on additional risks. Sometimes it makes sense to engage someone to help you identify th...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 11:35 AM
FHA Changes on the Horizon; Cross Selling Mortgages to Banking Clients; Failed MBS Trades; "Credit Repair" Fraud Case Settled;
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:37 AM
The WSJ published a story today implying the Federal Reserve was considering the idea of reinvesting MBS prepays back into new production TBA MBS. Rea...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:19 AM
The slow summer trade is in full effect ahead of what is setting up to be a directionally significant event this Friday: NonFarmPayrolls. If the Empl...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 5:53 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 2:57 PM
Two months after the tax credit expired, the national housing market is stagnate near record low levels of activity. Jobs were the issue before the ta...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 1:12 PM
The September FNCL 4.0 is +0-10 at 102-01 and the September FNCL 4.5 is +0-10 at 104-09. These are intraday highs. Some lenders may reprice for the be...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 10:52 AM
HVCC's Sun is Setting, Sort Of; Mega-Refinancing Rumors Dying Down; Loan Fraud Penalties;
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 9:31 AM
The Week Ahead: Employment Situation Report, Pending Home Sales, ISM, Treasury Auction Terms, Construction Spending, Personal Income & Outlays,
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 8:06 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 4:53 PM
Residential construction spending includes remodeling, additions, and major replacements to owner occupied properties subsequent to completion of orig...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 3:44 PM
Governments are cutting education funding, emergency budgets, police overtime, parks and recreation allocations, fire fighter training, etc, etc, etc....
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 3:32 PM
If you're a loan officer, I think the best advice I can offer is: Lock after you've gotten the file far enough to foresee an underwriting decision and...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 12:23 PM
The dormant USDA Section 502 rural housing program was revived by Congress yesterday and a House committee approved a bill to encourage owners of HUD ...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 11:10 AM
Rate sheet influential mortgage-backs are experiencing some localized weakness/relief. Nominally, spreads have been wider all morning but price level...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 11:05 AM
After visiting over 100 shops in the past 3 years, we haven't really seen anything “new under the sun” in terms of loan officer agreements. Sometimes ...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 9:35 AM
Rapid Refinance Program:Don't Bet On It; Mortgage Insurers Extend Losing Streak; More Discussion on Investor Overlays
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 8:29 AM
A busy day awaits the markets as investors get their first look at second-quarter GDP. Also in the store is the influential Chicago Business Barometer...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 4:44 PM
ALERT: There are some lenders out there, if the APP--to-->CLOSING process is flawless, where a borrower could close at 4.25% right now, without paying...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:31 PM
The Administration has begun to telegraph its intentions to move forward with reforms of the housing finance system. A conference will be held next m...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:06 PM
I recently spoke on two interesting panels at the American Conference Institute’s two day symposium on Reverse Mortgages. The conference attracted a ...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 9:51 AM
Final Ruling Issued on SAFE Act; Underwriting Guideline Overlays, Adverse Market Fees and Steep LLPAs; CMBS Sales; California State of Emergency;
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 9:33 AM
The Census Department released its survey of Residential Vacancies and Homeownership for the second quarter of 2010 which indicated that vacancies of ...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 8:30 AM
Equity futures are trading higher this morning despite word from Moody’s that it would have to question America’s triple-A credit rating unless it pr...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 1:09 PM
I hinted at this observation this morning but I will expand. The last time 10s broke through 3.00%...it was during an auction week. It just so happene...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:44 AM
Front-month TBA levels set yet another new record high this morning and yield spreads continued to tighten vs. benchmarks. While the street more than ...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:25 AM
Home Builder Rankings; Updates from HUD and Fannie; Home Ownership Stats; FHA Sanctions;
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 9:25 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 23, 2010. Mortgage loan applic...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 8:26 AM
The September Delivery FNCL 4.0 is +0-03 at 101-15. The FNCL 4.5 is +0-03 at 103-25. The secondary market current coupon is 1.2bps lower at 3.747%. Yi...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 4:16 PM
I suppose the first step of this scenario coming true is the "double-dip". Some folks say the deflationary spiral has already taken hold, others say w...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 3:33 PM
We all know the mortgage business can be extremely profitable at times. We also know it can be disastrous at other times. Regulators and law makers h...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 3:18 PM
HUD and FHA opened a public comment period on Thursday on another series of changes to underwriting guidelines, including the reduction of seller conc...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 2:24 PM
Nearly all Districts reported sluggish housing markets in the months since the homebuyer tax credit expired on April 30. While some Districts, such as...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 10:26 AM
Housing’s image certainly is as battered as it’s ever been. Responsibility for this last recession is rightfully borne by a mortgage market on steroid...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 9:07 AM
US MAY HOME PRICES IN 20 METRO AREAS RISE 0.5 PCT SEASONALLY ADJ (CONSENSUS 0.2 PCT) VS 0.6 PCT IN APRIL - S&P/CASE-SHILLER
