Fri, Jan 22 2021, 9:59 AM
This week Joe Exotic did not receive a presidential pardon, nor did mortgage rates move much versus last week, but there are still over 16 million ref...
Fri, Jan 22 2021, 9:25 AM
The nature of the pandemic has made for some very mechanical and orderly market movement. The best example of this in the bond market is the "trend...
Thu, Jan 21 2021, 3:36 PM
Mortgage rates made more progress today, but only after some drama in the morning. The bond market started the day in weaker territory and many mortga...
Thu, Jan 21 2021, 3:32 PM
Bonds Push Back Against AM Weakness, But Risks Remain
Yields were breaking higher as the domestic session be...
Thu, Jan 21 2021, 10:28 AM
Residential construction finished out 2020 much more strongly than analysts had expected. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban D...
Thu, Jan 21 2021, 9:56 AM
The GA senate election shift is old news. It did the damage it was always likely to do, but bonds had a good show of support by the end of the follow...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates are off to a decent start this week with the average lender offering slightly better terms compared to last Friday. The progress actual...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 3:08 PM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Tuesday that it has extended eligibility for FHA mortgages to individuals who are c...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 11:45 AM
After setting three successive record highs, most recently a 90 level in November , the pandemic and rising construction costs are taking a toll on th...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 9:50 AM
Does inauguration day matter for the bond market? Not as such, no. To be sure, the changing of the guard in D.C. is indeed a big deal for the bond...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 9:49 AM
In his Saturday Morning Cup of Joe , Jeremy Potter quipped, “The word ‘homeowners’ has the word ‘meow’ in it. Good luck unseeing that from now on.” Pl...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 9:15 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimates that applications for the purchase of newly built homes rose only 0.2 percent from November to Decemb...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 9:14 AM
Late last week the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) agreed to amend the Preferred Stock Purcha...
Wed, Jan 20 2021, 8:37 AM
The volume of mortgage applications fell back slightly last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index was down 1.9 ...
Tue, Jan 19 2021, 3:51 PM
Uneventful Start This Week; Next Move Remains Debatable
Bonds began the day in weaker territory but rallied ...
Tue, Jan 19 2021, 11:05 AM
President-elect Joe Biden has announced his picks for two important financial regulatory positions. The chairmanship of the Consumer Financial Protect...
Tue, Jan 19 2021, 11:03 AM
Sometimes running a mortgage compliance department can seem like this short clip Indiana’s Carol K. sent along. Yet there is value in compliance, and ...
Tue, Jan 19 2021, 9:39 AM
Last week's bond trading served the role of establishing a ceiling for yields after their biggest spike in nearly a year (and the case could be made t...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 4:42 PM
Big Victory This Week (In Response To Last Week's Big Loss)
Relative to the spectrum of possibilities, endin...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 10:34 AM
A decline in the number of forborne loans in those portfolios serviced for banks and private label securities (PLS) accounted for most of the modest d...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 10:19 AM
Freddie Mac's first quarter 2021 economic forecast is unusually short, and, unlike recent forecasts from either of the GSEs, has relatively few revisi...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 10:17 AM
Fannie Mae said that the standardization of servicing standards that followed the 2008 housing crisis appears to have helped the industry manage the r...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 10:02 AM
As Flagstar’s Marcus L. points out, “1999 doesn't sound like that long ago until you realize that people with a birth year starting with ‘2’ are start...
Fri, Jan 15 2021, 9:27 AM
After the GA senate elections, the bond market immediately knew it needed to prepare for additional stimulus, even if moderate democratic voices might...
Thu, Jan 14 2021, 4:03 PM
Bonds Playing it Extra Safe Ahead of Biden's Stimulus Details
As we discussed yesterday, the strong mid-week...
Thu, Jan 14 2021, 9:48 AM
A few hours after markets closed yesterday, news began coming out regarding a Biden aide mentioning tonight's stimulus proposal would be in the $2 tri...
Thu, Jan 14 2021, 9:20 AM
With the money I’m saving on “Dry January,” I was able to buy some great edibles at the dispensary yesterday. “Come on, come on, listen to the money t...
Wed, Jan 13 2021, 4:32 PM
Mortgage rates had another solid day today--this time without any of the early drama seen yesterday. If you're just getting caught up, the bond market...
Wed, Jan 13 2021, 4:25 PM
Important Victory For Bonds, and Another Battle Ahead
Rates rallied today. Despite a positive reaction to a...
Wed, Jan 13 2021, 11:17 AM
There are plenty of MLOs (mortgage loan originators) out there very pleased with their earnings for 2020. In a non-random sample, several CEOs with wh...
Wed, Jan 13 2021, 9:28 AM
With yesterday offering the first legitimate push back against the recent sell-off, today becomes one of three critically important days in establishi...
Wed, Jan 13 2021, 8:29 AM
It was a typical first-work-week-after-the holiday bounce for the mortgage indexes, although the surge was significantly more restrained than last yea...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 4:41 PM
While it did dip a bit last month, the availability of mortgage credit appears to be stabilizing , having moved only slightly over the last three mont...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 4:22 PM
Mortgage rates were off to a very bad start this morning, but recovered a portion of what they lost by the end of the day. The specifics depend greatl...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 4:16 PM
Much-Anticipated Correction Finally Arrives. Now What?
This morning's alert noted a scary scenario playing ...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 10:42 AM
The rate of mortgage delinquencies remains significantly elevated from last year, but there is gradual improvement . The national rate moved higher in...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 10:04 AM
This morning's alert notes that the bond market is in the midst of one of its scarier scenarios. The ingredients are as follows: a long run in a reco...
Tue, Jan 12 2021, 9:53 AM
Nearly two weeks into 2021 already? I was just getting used to saying “2020.” Now I have to add a syllable every time. “One.” There’s continued talk o...
Mon, Jan 11 2021, 5:41 PM
Mortgage rates are coming off a rough week-- the roughest , in fact, since June 2020 by some measures. That's the last time rates rose this quickly fo...
Mon, Jan 11 2021, 4:51 PM
Selling Spree Continues; MBS Underperforming
Earlier in the day, Treasuries looked to be selling off at a sl...
Mon, Jan 11 2021, 10:10 AM
Of course some found humor in last week’s riot in Washington DC. (“In light of recent events, Mexico has decided that it will pay for the wall after a...
Mon, Jan 11 2021, 9:33 AM
0.96% was a well-established ceiling for 10yr yields in November and December. Despite numerous intraday breaks, yields only managed to close higher ...
Fri, Jan 8 2021, 3:44 PM
Bonds Determined To Sell Despite Weaker NFP
The bond market considered rallying in response to this morning'...
Fri, Jan 8 2021, 1:23 PM
In most parts of the country owning a home is more affordable than renting one according to ATTOM Data Solutions' 2021 Rental Affordability Report . T...
Fri, Jan 8 2021, 1:20 PM
A month end wave of plan expirations in December led to a substantial decline in the number of active forbearances during the first week of 2021. Blac...
Fri, Jan 8 2021, 10:31 AM
While the industry watches the personnel changes at Arch and National MI, I received several texts and emails pleading, “I’d like to cancel my subscri...
Fri, Jan 8 2021, 9:40 AM
While it's essentially a given the bigger stimulus is on the way with democrats controlling the senate (thus implying more Treasury issuance and a qui...
Thu, Jan 7 2021, 5:40 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today, but only a modest pace compared to yesterday (read more about yesterday's rate rout HERE ). Over the past two days,...
Thu, Jan 7 2021, 5:32 PM
That the pandemic is worse today than it was last spring appears to be finally dawning on a lot of consumers and the Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HP...
Thu, Jan 7 2021, 5:17 PM
Negative Momentum Remains Threatening Ahead of Jobs Report
We came into today hoping (but not necessarily ex...
