Fri, Mar 19 2021, 10:36 AM
Based on the number of times members have searched the term "SLR" on MBS Live in the past week, we'll go ahead and cover it here again. SLR = Supplem...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 4:48 PM
Despite your thoughts on the term "fake news," we have to talk about it in the context of mortgage rates . It's highly pertinent, even if deception is...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 4:09 PM
Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Float Overnight
We're putting in for permits to build our own Pirates of the Caribb...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 1:30 PM
It hasn't exactly been a scramble, but homeowners have stepped up their refinancing activity over the last two months as they saw interest rates begin...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 1:27 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting a slowdown in new home sales when the Census Bureau releases its statistics next week. MBA's Buil...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 11:26 AM
Powell was reasonably dovish yesterday. He immediately shut down a reporter who asked when we could talk about tapering. He reiterated the need to r...
Thu, Mar 18 2021, 10:11 AM
The Internal Revenue Service is not known for being creative, but yesterday it was announced that the usual tax deadline of 4/15 has been moved to 5/1...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 4:39 PM
Mortgage rates started the day in bad shape after significant bond market weakness overnight. Treasury yields rose roughly 0.05%, and that sort of mov...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 4:36 PM
Powell Punts on SLR; Bonds Survive... Sorta
Today could have been much worse even though no one will look...
Wed, Mar 17 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, Mar 17 2021, 10:25 AM
Whether or not it was another biproduct of the pandemic, The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said the popularity of multigenerational homes in...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 10:20 AM
It looked last month as though residential construction was about to take off. While starts were down in January, permits surged by 10.4 percent. Buil...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 9:56 AM
For the 17th time in 2021, we can unhappily re-use the same lead in: just when you thought bonds surely wouldn't get any weaker... 10yr yields hit mo...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 9:17 AM
Many years ago I asked my father about why we didn’t have a home gym. He replied, “Want exercise? Jog to the liquor store and get me a beer, then do a...
Wed, Mar 17 2021, 8:40 AM
Mortgage application volume declined again during the week ended March 12, as refinancing deflated in the face of rising interest rates. The Mortgage ...
Tue, Mar 16 2021, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates rose moderately today, depending on the lender. It's worth noting that lender pricing is exceptionally widely stratified at the moment....
Tue, Mar 16 2021, 3:53 PM
No Help From Strong Auction or Weak Data; Waiting on The Fed
Bonds shrugged off a big miss in Retail Sales t...
Tue, Mar 16 2021, 11:38 AM
Escalating costs took a toll on builder confidence this month. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said its Housing Market Index dipped t...
Tue, Mar 16 2021, 10:30 AM
Time flies. Ringo is 80!? I bet he’s done some vacationing in the last 60 years. I gave my wife a dart and a poster of a world map and told her, “Thro...
Tue, Mar 16 2021, 10:19 AM
So far this morning, bonds have passed over the econ data in favor consolidating inside Friday's trading range. Given the proximity of the Fed announ...
Mon, Mar 15 2021, 3:52 PM
Fighting Good Fight, Waiting on Fed Day
Coming off a fairly rough Friday at the end of last week, it's mildl...
Mon, Mar 15 2021, 11:27 AM
A study by ApartmentList has identified a new category of workers, arising, at least in part, out of the pandemic. Lynn Pollack, writing in GlobeSt , ...
Mon, Mar 15 2021, 10:01 AM
Here we are at the Ides of March: only two weeks until the end of the 1st quarter! The time is flying by and time is precious. Last night I slept on t...
Mon, Mar 15 2021, 9:21 AM
Last week ended poorly for the bond market with yields jumping to new one year highs. It was also the first full week with 10yr yields trading above 2...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 3:36 PM
Sobering Reminder About Rising Rate Trend
By yesterday afternoon, the bond market had managed to string toge...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 3:07 PM
Fannie Mae announced March 10 that they are limiting new loans secured by second homes or investment properties to 7% of the overall loans they purcha...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 1:21 PM
Homeowners' housing wealth grew by record numbers in the fourth quarter of last year . CoreLogic, in its Home Equity Report for the period, says the a...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 11:15 AM
Black Knight notes a large improvement in forbearance statistics during the week ended March 9. The number of loans in active plans dropped by 77,000 ...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 10:27 AM
By yesterday afternoon, the bond market had managed to string together several of the most reassuring days of 2021. Today's early losses provide a wa...
Fri, Mar 12 2021, 9:56 AM
A year ago… remember when you couldn’t find toilet paper for sale? Now you can’t find a house for sale. But there are plenty of Agency MBS and other d...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 3:50 PM
Mortgage rates improved microscopically today as the underlying bond market stayed uncharacteristically steady. Since the beginning of 2021, bonds hav...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 3:36 PM
Tame Treasury Auctions. What's Up With New NOO/2nd Fees?
The week's biggest potential market movers (the 10...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 12:55 PM
Fannie Mae has sent lenders an advanced notice that additional risk criteria is coming for loans it acquires from lenders. Lender Letter 2021-08 lays ...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 12:53 PM
Access to mortgage credit remained unchanged in February after making modest gains over the previous four months. The Mortgage Bankers Association sai...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 12:43 PM
Roughly 60 percent of U.S. households are effectively priced out of the new home market according to 2021 estimates from the National Association of H...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 11:24 AM
With all the hundreds of thousands of borrowers around the nation left to refinance, lenders are understandably concerned about mortgage rates creepin...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 10:31 AM
Yesterday's much-anticipated 10yr auction was extremely underwhelming. Combine that with fairly flat trading levels at the moment and the mortgage co...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 4:01 PM
Reasons For Both Hope and Caution
Today's 10yr auction was average, but that performance followed a mid-d...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 11:33 AM
CoreLogic's December 2020 Loan Performance Insights report was upbeat, citing positive signs of recovery after a rocky year in which a pandemic and re...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 10:02 AM
Today I head off on a business trip to Georgia for a few days, which reminded me that yesterday’s commentary had some state facts. As expected, people...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 10:02 AM
2021's rate spike is big enough and has been going on long enough that there is widespread speculation about how much worse it could get. While it is...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 8:44 AM
Mortgage application volume turned lower again this week after longer term rates rose again, pulling more steam out of refinancing. The Mortgage Banke...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 4:16 PM
Wednesday's 10yr Auction Could Cast a Big Vote on a Bounce
With bonds coming into the session in much strong...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 4:15 PM
At this point, no one should be surprised to hear that mortgage rates have moved significantly higher in 2021--especially in the past few weeks. There...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 10:38 AM
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) declined slightly in February as did four of its six components. The Index, based on a sample of ans...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 9:58 AM
Much like February 26th, overnight strength in the bond market allows us to ask the same obvious question: "is this the bounce?" Much like Feb 26th, ...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 9:56 AM
Does anyone agree on anything anymore? In the past, state trivia was fun because everyone agreed on it. No one will disagree that Alaska is the northe...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 3:38 PM
3-Day Weekend for Volatility; Waiting on Supply
After Friday's bond market rout, today's relatively calm tra...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 10:27 AM
Last year was a record setting one when it comes to mortgage origination according to Black Knight's January Mortgage Monitor. It puts the total volum...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 10:04 AM
Over the past 3-4 months, the prospect of fiscal stimulus has done major damage to the bond market. It wouldn't have been a surprise to see more weak...