Fri, Feb 19 2021, 5:54 PM
There's no precedent for the winning streak enjoyed by mortgage rates in the 2nd half of 2020. We've never seen so many new record lows in the same ye...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 3:22 PM
Surprisingly Swift Selling in The Bond Market; What's Next?
This week has been one of the most surprising se...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 11:42 AM
Existing home sales started the 2021 with a small increase from the December sale levels, the second consecutive monthly gain. The National Associatio...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 11:38 AM
The Urban Institute (UI) says the surge in foreclosures predicted as the COVID-19 pandemic drove unemployment to the highest level since the Great Dep...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 10:13 AM
Given recent temperature trends, we're well within our right to expect actual bears to be in hibernation. How about bond market bears? They've eaten...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 9:32 AM
Ice Mortgage Technology (formerly Ellie Mae) said that closed loans continued show declining note rates in January, dropping from an average of 2.93 p...
Fri, Feb 19 2021, 9:15 AM
(To listen to the audio version of today’s commentary, please click here .) I received many nice comments about the section in yesterday’s commentary ...
Thu, Feb 18 2021, 4:43 PM
No Easy Answers Today; Still Anyone's Game
Bonds were weaker earlier in the trading session but rallied back...
Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:46 AM
Builders appear to be prepping for a huge spring . While the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development report that housin...
Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:36 AM
Welcome to 124-year-old Girl Scout Cookie Season ! If you’re an LO, how’d you like to deal with borrowers for 189 years, or eat the same thing day aft...
Thu, Feb 18 2021, 10:12 AM
We talked about momentum indicators being 'oversold' yesterday--a possible prelude to a friendly bounce in bonds. If that narrative is going to play ...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 4:18 PM
Volatility has returned to the mortgage market in grand fashion this week with many lenders quoting rates that are as much as a quarter of a point hig...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 4:13 PM
Looking For Silver Linings Despite Falling Sky
After a huge day of snowball selling yesterday, bonds started...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 11:40 AM
After dropping from record high levels by a total of 7 points over the last two months, the index that measures home builder confidence has stabilized...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 11:08 AM
Bonds have been hammered by selling pressure in 2021--especially in February. When it comes to many parts of the financial market, and especially bon...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 9:47 AM
Time flies. President Biden extended FHA & VA mortgage relief and the ban on home foreclosures through June . Did you know that, at 46, Leonardo DiCap...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 9:33 AM
The White House announced on Tuesday that the various COVID-19 relief programs available through The Department of Housing and Urban Development, Vete...
Wed, Feb 17 2021, 8:15 AM
The volume of mortgage applications declined again last week, the fourth loss out of the six full weeks since the year began . The Mortgage Bankers As...
Tue, Feb 16 2021, 4:18 PM
Recovery prospects, renewed focus on stimulus, inflation concerns, a brighter covid outlook, etc... All of these are reasons for an ongoing, gradual t...
Tue, Feb 16 2021, 4:06 PM
Panic In The Bond Market
It's no mystery that longer-term Treasury yields have been trending higher since Au...
Tue, Feb 16 2021, 9:45 AM
Despite the lousy weather in many parts of the nation, and Mardi Gras being cancelled, the year is off to a fine start for lenders, and borrowers bene...
Tue, Feb 16 2021, 9:31 AM
The quarterly Housing Trends Survey conducted by the National Association of Homebuilders found that 69 percent of those actively seeking to buy a hom...
Tue, Feb 16 2021, 9:28 AM
Last week ended with snowball selling in the bond market. Given the approach of a holiday weekend, there was a chance that the weakness was overdon...
Fri, Feb 12 2021, 1:10 PM
Snowball Selling in Bonds After Mid-Week Rally Fizzles
We were looking for a friendly correction in bonds th...
Fri, Feb 12 2021, 9:42 AM
Lending and real estate are permanently linked. On the mortgage side of things, the podcast of today’s commentary features thoughts on the $1.5 billio...
Fri, Feb 12 2021, 9:38 AM
As of Monday, bonds had closed at higher yields for 8 straight days. Such streaks beg for a correction. They rarely last longer. The correction bec...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 3:24 PM
Friendly Bounce May Already Have Run Its Course
Friendly bounces after strong selling sprees are slightly mo...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 11:52 AM
Fannie Mae will implement a new version of its Desktop Underwriter (DU) after the weekend of March 13 . Version 11.0 apply to loan casefiles submitted...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 10:42 AM
Most of the accommodations that have been allowed lenders and borrowers by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic were...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 10:35 AM
A high percentage of those who told the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) late last year that they were thinking of buying a home have now ...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 9:27 AM
For the most part, this week has been "so far, so good" through Wednesday. Yields have pushed back nicely after topping out at the highest levels in ...
Thu, Feb 11 2021, 9:18 AM
I’ve never set foot on a Lear Jet, but was not excited to hear the iconic product ceasing production. Freddie Mac’s 4 th quarter results are pretty ex...
Wed, Feb 10 2021, 4:02 PM
Mortgage rates haven't been moving much recently, but they've logged enough small victories to make it back to the lower levels seen on February 1st ....
Wed, Feb 10 2021, 3:23 PM
CPI and 10yr Auction Make a Case For a Near-Term Rate Ceiling
NOTE: charts look weak this morning despite st...
Wed, Feb 10 2021, 9:51 AM
Here we are in the seemingly 58 th week of 2020. What’s new? The podcast of today’s commentary features thoughts from the Millennial host on how lende...
Wed, Feb 10 2021, 9:29 AM
Contrary to some of the wholesale price pressures suggested by recent reports (like the ISM manufacturing "prices paid" component, which rose to the h...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 3:18 PM
Locking vs Floating After Underwhelming "Rally Day."
The recent losing streak in the bond market made it inc...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 11:35 AM
Access to mortgage credit increased again in January. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) rose 2...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 11:27 AM
Mortgage delinquencies are continuing a slow retreat into pre-pandemic territory. CoreLogic's Loan Performance Report for November put the percentage ...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 9:27 AM
After 8 straight days with yields closing higher than they opened, bonds are starting out in stronger territory with a chance to reverse the curse. T...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 9:13 AM
Yesterday I flubbed up by discussing the Administration’s proposal to eliminate credit unions and have the CFPB control the credit process . The artic...
Tue, Feb 9 2021, 8:48 AM
Consumers expressed more positive sentiments toward the housing market as 2021 arrived, sending Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) a bi...
Mon, Feb 8 2021, 4:03 PM
Reasons For Both Hope and Fear In Today's Trading
Bonds have been in a consistent trend leading toward highe...
Mon, Feb 8 2021, 1:29 PM
Even with the accelerating pace of home price increases, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) still sees homes remaining affordable. The N...
Mon, Feb 8 2021, 10:25 AM
There were spooky stories told around bond market campfires late last week. The monster in those stories was the looming specter of the Treasury au...
Mon, Feb 8 2021, 9:27 AM
A Pennsylvania man is suing Smart Water for not making him smart, and here, in this Commentary, I’d like to formally announce my lawsuit against Thin ...
Fri, Feb 5 2021, 5:30 PM
Guys around the nation have nine days to forget that nine days from now is Valentine’s Day, and florists everywhere have already ordered roses (in the...
Fri, Feb 5 2021, 5:16 PM
Treasury Slide Transcends NFP; MBS Outperform
Bond yields rose overnight--well before NFP came out--followin...
Fri, Feb 5 2021, 10:03 AM
The day is young, but off to an uncommonly volatile start following 2 key inputs. The overnight session brought news of the Senate passing the $1.9 t...
Thu, Feb 4 2021, 3:54 PM
Markets May Be Underestimating Tomorrow's Jobs Report
Today's trading session was rather uneventful for b...
