Mon, Dec 27 2021, 11:09 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 12.0 percent in November compared to a 15.7 percen...
Mon, Dec 27 2021, 11:07 AM
I hope that you’re not reading this while stuck due to the thousands of cancelled flights or road closures in Northern California! Kudos to Carol K. w...
Thu, Dec 23 2021, 1:05 PM
November was another one of those months for new home sales when the topline numbers look terrific. And then you take a second look. The U.S. Census B...
Thu, Dec 23 2021, 11:42 AM
While serious delinquencies remain a concern, homeowners are recovering quickly from pandemic induced mortgage delinquencies. Black Knight's "first lo...
Thu, Dec 23 2021, 11:36 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is ending their business year, they will be closed until January 3, with their annual housing and economic fore...
Thu, Dec 23 2021, 11:33 AM
When I was a kid, we’d trade baseball cards between each other… at least the ones that weren’t in the spokes of our bikes. The creativity, technique, ...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 7:48 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher for the third straight day on Wednesday. This brings the average lender to the highest levels in exactly 2 weeks. But ...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 4:02 PM
Sideways, Boring, and Slightly Stronger
10yr futures contract volume was roughly 600k by 3pm. That's on par...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 11:23 AM
Yes, you should know that today is a date palindrome. Of course people in Ohio, and Florida, know that Key West is farther west than Cleveland . Utah ...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 11:19 AM
Existing home sales came in a little lower than expected in November, but it was still the third consecutive gain. The National Association of Realtor...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 11:15 AM
The volume of mortgage applications dipped slightly during the week ended December 17, the second consecutive decline. The Mortgage Bankers Associatio...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 11:05 AM
If you've grown tired of hearing about holiday related illiquidity in the bond market or you otherwise are fully up to speed on its implications, you'...
Tue, Dec 21 2021, 4:41 PM
Incidental Weakness
This morning's commentary covers everything that needs to be said in today's closing com...
Tue, Dec 21 2021, 11:57 AM
The first monthly report on the status of the COVID-19 related forbearance programs was released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Monday. ...
Tue, Dec 21 2021, 11:13 AM
If you are a VA lender, or service servicemembers’ loans, you don’t want to be singled out by the Department of Justice or the CFPB. And the two of th...
Tue, Dec 21 2021, 10:20 AM
One of the best things to keep in mind not just for financial markets but for life in general is that explanations are rarely black and white when it ...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 5:28 PM
For most lenders, mortgage rates edged slightly higher at the start of the holiday-shortened week. The exception would be among those lenders who made...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 4:54 PM
Small Scale Volatility Leaves Bonds Slightly Weaker
The day began on a modestly positive note and ended with...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 1:35 PM
Fannie Mae jumped up its forecast for real GDP on a Q4/Q4 basis this week, revising it from 4.8 percent in last month's report to 5.5 percent. The com...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 11:11 AM
Despite a bit of 2-way trading, bonds are starting the day in slightly stronger territory. Pandemic concerns remain the most obvious source of inspir...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 10:52 AM
W.C. Fields said, “Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places.” Unfortunately, many people have much less of it, and ...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 6:45 PM
Sure, we could write a headline that attempts to distill the concept of a big picture struggle between the forces exerting upward pressure on rates an...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 3:50 PM
Mixed Performance Amid Light Liquidity and Fed Comments
The bond market shifted into a predictable gear for ...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 2:56 PM
Even as home prices rise into the stratosphere home flipping remains an active endeavor, accounting for just under 6 percent of all home sale transact...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 11:29 AM
3 hawkish central bank announcements on Wed/Thu have been no match for the bullish impulses at the end of the week. These include but are not limited...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 10:38 AM
Are you afraid of the day that the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities? “Afraid” is too strong a word. (For many, this activity wo...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 4:55 PM
Bonds Defy Logic, Rallying Nicely After Central Banks Tighten
There are only so many ways to explain what ha...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:59 AM
Housing starts surged in November to the highest seasonally adjusted rate since March and the second highest in the last 12 months. The U.S. Census Bu...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:57 AM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reminding homeowners and mortgage servicers that their disaster relief options are in effect for those affected by...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:55 AM
I work hard to live a very glamorous life. I mention this because yesterday, when I sent the Commentary out from the road at a glamorous McDonalds in ...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 9:45 AM
If you're not familiar with Fezzik from The Princess Bride, you have more important things to do than read about what's going on in the bond market (b...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates were fairly flat heading into today's important Fed announcement. Despite arguably receiving bad news, they didn't move too much higher...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 4:22 PM
Surprisingly Resilient After Fed Doubles Tapering Pace
After implementing the tapering plan 6 short weeks ag...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 2:00 PM
The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum ...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 11:26 AM
By the time we finally arrive at a much-anticipated Fed day, there's not much to do in the morning hours apart from the proverbial "hurry up and wait....
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:42 AM
California has reinstituted its mask mandate. No one is interested in living in isolation again. Remember, “Your quarantine alcoholic name is your fir...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:37 AM
Builder confidence in the new home market is finishing 2021 strong despite what the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says are inflation co...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:35 AM
Mortgage application volume moved lower last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, f...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 4:10 PM
Calm Today. Bigger Volatility a Risk For Tomorrow
Treasuries began the domestic session in modestly weaker t...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 3:30 PM
Traditionally, financial markets have been interested in announcements from the Federal Reserve due to the Fed's policy rate (the Fed Funds Rate) and ...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 3:18 PM
The current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has been nominated to officially run the agency. The White House announced on Tuesda...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 12:42 PM
September marked additional improvement in loan performance nationwide. CoreLogic says the national delinquency rate, loans that were 30 or more days ...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 12:37 PM
No CEO wants to hear from their secretary, “The CFPB is holding for you on Line Two.” Lenders who have different prices in the same MSA? Don’t even tr...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 9:14 AM
The week before last (the one where omicron resulted in faster-paced stock losses and bond gains) 10yr yields ran into some resistance on their journe...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 4:29 PM
Weekend News Cycle Hurts Stocks, Helps Bonds
Whether it's bothersome restrictions domestically or more emerg...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 3:58 PM
Mortgage rates have been fairly flat in the bigger picture, but each passing day continues to bring small scale movements. This is almost always the c...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 11:48 AM
Black Knight reports that rate locks, as measured by the company's Market Volume Index, declined 4.7 percent from October to November. Those for refin...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 11:31 AM
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. If you haven’t seen a video this one from a drone ) of the destruction in the South and Midwe...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 8:59 AM
The last 2 weeks have seen elevated volatility for the bond market. Omicron concerns took yields lower, but the gains reversed as concerns moderated....
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 5:37 PM
Financial market volatility increased noticeably after the emergence of the omicron variant. Last week, that proved to be good for rates and bad for s...
