Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:15 AM
Americans are continuing the trend started at the beginning of the pandemic 19 months ago, seeking larger homes in areas with lower density and prices...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:13 AM
Yes, it’s Tuesday already. Good morning to everyone except my wife who, at 2AM, mid-dream, sat bolt upright in bed and terrifyingly shouted into the d...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 9:18 AM
After being closed for Labor Day yesterday, the bond market is noticeably weaker to start the new week. In the overnight session alone, yields rose e...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 4:26 PM
MBS Outperformance is Part of the Answer to Today's Riddle
When does an obviously weak jobs report result in...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:32 PM
Black Knight estimates that nearly 630,000 forbearance plans, more than one-third of those currently active, are slated for review this month. Of thos...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:27 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are running away with new home financing. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that conventional loan...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:11 PM
“It was the third of September that day I’ll always remember … Papa was a rolling stone… Wherever he laid his hat was his home. And when he died, all ...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 11:23 AM
Nonfarm Payrolls came in at 235k versus a median forecast of 728k. Poll a hundred market strategists about the likely market impact and 99 of them wo...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 4:05 PM
Particularly Calm Before a Particularly Important NFP
The widest trading range of the week has been 4.5bps (...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 2:51 PM
Mortgage rates are based primarily on bonds. Bonds take cues from economic data (among other things). And tomorrow's big jobs report is the most consi...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 2:49 PM
The U.S. Census Bureau says July's expenditures on all types of construction was at a seasonally adjusted rate of $1.569 trillion compared to $1.563 t...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 11:27 AM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a series of actions aimed at assisting in the Biden Administrations goal of creati...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 11:07 AM
“Yeah, I think I’ll put up some plywood and buy some water and just wait out this supposed hurricane. Those scientist/weather people are just exaggera...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 10:10 AM
Ah, the Thursday before a Friday jobs report--much like a Forest Gump box of chocolates. They're typically fairly boring with movement that tends to ...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 5:07 PM
Much like yesterday, mortgage rates were unchanged to slightly higher , depending on the lender. And once again, the differences in pricing strategies...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 5:06 PM
Bonds Waiting For More Relevant Inspiration
Today's ADP employment data missed the mark by quite a bit. If ...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:12 AM
Overheard recently: “I just want a man who will make me laugh as we count his family’s money on his rock-hard abs.” Lenders are doing okay, money-wise...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:05 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 8.4 percent in July compared to a 12.9 percent gai...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:04 AM
Mortgage application volume declined again last week , dragged down by flagging refinance activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its Ma...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:00 AM
The stated goal of the ADP Employment Report is to predict the final revision of the US government's non-farm payroll number. Assessing its efficacy ...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 4:56 PM
Mortgage rates were unchanged to slightly higher today, depending on the lender. The differences in pricing strategies stem from the timing of changes...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 4:21 PM
Weaker Data Offset by European Tapering Fears
Bonds improved after weaker economic data this morning. Trade...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 12:09 PM
Tuesday morning wasted no time in confirming the relevance of economic data to the current bond market environment. When Chicago PMI came out weaker ...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 11:09 AM
In a report released on Monday, CoreLogic recaps investor activity in the housing market over the last decade. Its Investor Homebuying Report highligh...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 11:05 AM
Annual price gains remained at a double-digit pace in June. Both The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 10:48 AM
I received some exciting news that I wanted to share with my readers. I received an invitation from a mortgage periodical to receive an award, if I pa...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 5:35 PM
Jackson Hole Follow Through Helps Bonds Hold The Range
Bonds were at the top of their recent range last Frid...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 4:27 PM
Mortgage rates drifted lower again today, with the average lender getting back down to the lowest levels since the first week of August. In a general ...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 12:22 PM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) have told their borrowers and mortgage servicers that they are offering immediate relief options to those a...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 11:31 AM
Last week's theme was simple: sell bonds until hearing what Fed Chair Powell had to say in his Jackson Hole speech, then buy bonds when Powell simply ...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 11:01 AM
The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association conference is in full swing. Folks tell me that servicing is a big topic in informal hallway discussions. MCT d...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 10:53 AM
While existing home sales have increased in the last two months after a four-month slump, those sales don't look especially bright as we head into the...
Fri, Aug 27 2021, 3:23 PM
Powell Sticks to Script. Bonds Like It
Fed Chair Powell's Jackson Hole speech has come and gone without caus...
Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:53 AM
Last night, my wife asked me if I’d seen the dog bowl. I replied, “I didn’t know he could.” Words are important, and the press is spending plenty of t...
Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:00 AM
Much has been made of the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium in 2021 and in a general sense throughout the years. On some years, the anticipation has prove...
Thu, Aug 26 2021, 3:43 PM
Bonds Leveling Off But Not Out of The Woods
Bonds began the day with a test of the important technical ceili...
Thu, Aug 26 2021, 2:36 PM
Mortgage rates stabilized today after moving higher at a moderately quick pace over the past 2 days. To be sure, today's rates are definitely higher t...
Thu, Aug 26 2021, 11:24 AM
What parent hasn’t heard, “Are we there yet?” from the back seat during a road trip? The same could be said about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Gove...
Thu, Aug 26 2021, 10:51 AM
Bonds are either on the doorstep of critical line in the sand, or they soon will be. These lines are drawn on the technical ceilings at 1.37% and 1.4...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 4:09 PM
Yields Searching For a Pre-Fed Ceiling
Although the week began in forgettable fashion, Tuesday saw yields mo...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 2:32 PM
Early in the pandemic (Version I) there were a lot of theories advanced about its lasting effects on housing. Some of the theories were fanciful. Thes...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 10:50 AM
In the various originator-centric conferences I’ve attended, I’ve never seen a session on, “How to beat up your capital markets group on pricing & ext...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 10:45 AM
Both refinance and purchase applications increased slightly last week , and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a ...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 10:25 AM
The profits of independent mortgage banks and bank mortgage subsidiaries took their third straight tumble in the second quarter of this year. Those pr...
Wed, Aug 25 2021, 8:06 AM
Although the week began in forgettable fashion, Tuesday saw yields move up at a moderate pace with no overt provocation. Indeed a quick glance at the ...
Tue, Aug 24 2021, 4:32 PM
Increasingly Defensive Ahead of Jackson Hole
Bonds sold off moderately and steadily all day without any clea...
Tue, Aug 24 2021, 2:36 PM
After a sharp increase to start the year and significant improvements between April and mid July, mortgage rates have been fairly flat for more than a...
Tue, Aug 24 2021, 11:00 AM
New home sales recovered slightly in July after two months which saw the annual rate of sales dip by an aggregate of more than 100,000 units. The U.S....
Tue, Aug 24 2021, 10:57 AM
Worried about your privacy? You should be. Illinois’ Lemonade, an AI-enabled provider of homeowners and renters insurance, was hit with a privacy clas...
Tue, Aug 24 2021, 10:37 AM
MBS and Treasuries do such a good job traveling together that it's especially notable when they diverge. That's doubly true on days like today where ...
