Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:55 AM
While the degree to which is happened was somewhat disappointing, pending home sales did snap out of a two-month slump in March . The National Associa...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:39 AM
There has been a significant reduction mortgage processing times since the first of the year according to ICE Mortgage Technology. Its Origination Ins...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:36 AM
A “google” is the large number of 1 with 100 zeroes after it. For lenders, a billion is a large number, and it would be unheard of for a lender to sav...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 9:09 AM
Bonds started the day quite a bit weaker after several pieces of EU econ data came in much stronger than expected. Domestic data hasn't done anything...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 4:40 PM
The Federal Reserve released a new policy announcement today. This is one of the 8 times per year where the Fed can opt to change "rates," or adjust i...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 4:29 PM
Bonds Find Footing After Digesting Friendly Fed Message
Bonds were slightly cautious ahead of the Fed announ...
Wed, Apr 28 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, Apr 28 2021, 12:05 PM
Earlier this month the Urban Institute pointed out that the unprecedented low interest rates of the pandemic era have not benefitted everyone. Their r...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 10:57 AM
Lenders will have more than an additional year to comply with the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) Rule . The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFP...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 10:55 AM
There sure is a lot going on out there! From California comes news that Finance of America is buying “certain assets” from California’s Parkside Lendi...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 9:29 AM
Today's Fed announcement isn't likely to contain any major revelations for the bond market, nor to cause any significant volatility. Logical conclusi...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 8:42 AM
The national homeownership rate moved fractionally higher in the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the same quarter in 2020 but was lower than in...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 8:27 AM
The solid 8.6 percent increase in mortgage application volume during the week ended April 16, only the fourth gain thus far in 2021, was short lived. ...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates have fallen almost every single day in April. By the end of last week, that meant the average lender was offering the lowest convention...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 3:30 PM
Another Bad 7yr Auction Day, Even If We Can't Blame The Auction
Bonds were feeling a bit defensive ahead of ...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:34 AM
A month after interest rates began to rise, neither the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices nor that from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) fou...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 9:56 AM
7yr Treasury auctions haven't been great for bonds in 2021. Every time we've had one, bonds have sold off. In fact, the late February example proved...
Mon, Apr 26 2021, 10:51 AM
While the market digests the acquisition of Flagstar by NY Community Bancorp by the end of 2021, and talk of more deals in the works, in previous gene...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 2:49 PM
Winning Streak Thwarted, But Not By Much
This morning's Day Ahead pondered the possibility of a 4th straight...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 12:09 PM
New home sales reversed direction in March, fully recovering from the 18.2 percent nosedive those sales took in February. The Census Bureau said sales...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:33 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting a banner year for purchase mortgage originations. The Association's chief economist and senior vi...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:32 AM
Existing home sales declined for the second straight month in March. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said single-family homes, townhomes, ...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:28 AM
My cat Myrtle seems immune to marketing and advertisement. Not everyone is, of course, and there are some clever, albeit ominous, ways to get messages...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 5:06 PM
Mortgage rates fell to the lowest levels since March 2nd or 3rd (depending on the lender) yesterday and today they fell just a bit more. Most borrower...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 4:01 PM
Forget the ECB; Taxes Saved Bonds Today
First off, bonds didn't really need "saving." They were only modest...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:48 AM
For months, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has been citing lumber prices as one of the headwinds faced by new home builders as they ...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:44 AM
Black Knight's "first look" at loan performance data in March brought back memories of an old TV ad, "Is it real or is it Memorex?" The company said t...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:25 AM
Not you, of course, but many other people in our biz are elderly. Sure you haven’t seen them in person in a year, but they’re there. Or they have elde...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:04 AM
Today's only real significant market mover is/was the ECB Announcement and press conference. They weren't expected to change policy, but markets were...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 3:39 PM
Last Thursday was the best day for mortgage rates in more than a month, and while they bounced back up on Thursday afternoon, they've been falling mod...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 3:28 PM
4th Straight Day Inside Last Thursday's Range
Last Thursday was the best rally day we've seen in months and ...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 10:04 AM
There are no major events on the econ calendar today and no compelling market movers in play so far this week--at least not for bonds. Stocks, on the...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 9:50 AM
Over the weekend I visited a gas station, and the fellow in the kiosk had a name tag with, “Tim, Fuel Leader” inscribed on it. I will leave making fun...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 9:45 AM
Mortgage application volume broke out of a six-week slump in a big way during the week ended April 16. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Marke...
Tue, Apr 20 2021, 4:23 PM
Mortgage rates hit their lowest levels in more than a month last Thursday, but reversed course later that afternoon. With that, it looked like rates w...
Tue, Apr 20 2021, 4:21 PM
Decent Day For Bonds as Stocks Sell
A good, old-fashioned "risk-off" rally has been hard to come by in 2021,...
Tue, Apr 20 2021, 10:53 AM
The Urban Institute (UI) is advocating for a streamlined refinancing program similar to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) which aided many ...
Tue, Apr 20 2021, 10:13 AM
Whenever I ask my cat Myrtle about her opinion of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, she remains mum. But the CFPB has been in the press lately. ...
Tue, Apr 20 2021, 9:39 AM
How can you avoid reading this prose when the headline is so gripping? Slow trading! Sideways grind! Lack of obvious near-term inspiration! If we'...
Mon, Apr 19 2021, 3:19 PM
Slow Start to a Potentially Slow Week.
Bonds did a good enough job of holding their ground today thus leavin...
Mon, Apr 19 2021, 12:30 PM
Incoming data for March has caused Fannie Mae to again revise its forecast for the year's growth in gross domestic product (GDP). The company's Econom...
Mon, Apr 19 2021, 11:32 AM
The House Committee on Financial Services (FSC) held a virtual hearing last week on ways to provide equitable and affordable housing infrastructure. T...
Mon, Apr 19 2021, 10:19 AM
As lenders are wondering who will be the next merger or acquisition announcement (news of the Sterling Bancorp and Webster Financial came out this mor...
Mon, Apr 19 2021, 10:02 AM
When the most recent leg of US bond market weakness began in February, US 10yr yields were around 1.1% and German Bund yields (effectively the "EU 10y...
Fri, Apr 16 2021, 5:21 PM
Still a Decent Week Despite Friday Slide
Thursday morning was exceptionally strong for bonds--perhaps too st...
Fri, Apr 16 2021, 11:34 AM
Residential construction recovered in March after a serious decline the prior month. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Develo...
Fri, Apr 16 2021, 11:16 AM
True to tradition, new home sales appear to have moved higher in March as the calendar closed in on the start of the spring market. The Mortgage Banke...
Fri, Apr 16 2021, 10:48 AM
Suddenly everyone’s ruminating on upcoming mergers and acquisitions (and there will definitely be some), but in the lower management ranks, lenders ar...
Fri, Apr 16 2021, 10:06 AM
For virtually all of 2021 (and much of Q4 2020), we've been tracking an uptrend in Treasury yields. As the overall move grew to a size rarely seen in...
Thu, Apr 15 2021, 4:50 PM
It's no secret that mortgage rates had a rough month in March and a rough year in general. The average lender raised 30yr fixed rates by roughly half ...
