Thu, Sep 27 2012, 11:34 AM
The report this morning from the
National Association of Realtors® ( NAR ) on pending home sales shows continued
volatility in the housing marke...
Thu, Sep 27 2012, 9:51 AM
Even though last Saturday was the equinox, here's the weird thing: five
days after the equinox today is the "longest" day of the year! If
you're thi...
Wed, Sep 26 2012, 11:58 AM
Here in Denver the city is preparing for next Wednesday's presidential
debate. And what would an election be without a Chia Pet in the shape of
yo...
Wed, Sep 26 2012, 11:01 AM
New home sales were down slightly in
August compared to July, slipping 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 373,000 units and were 2...
Tue, Sep 25 2012, 11:07 AM
Home prices as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller
Home Price Indices rose across the board in July with both the 10- and 20-City
Composites and all...
Mon, Sep 24 2012, 11:31 AM
Welcome to the first business day since the autumn equinox. This is the
day when the tilt of the earth's rotational axis is perfectly perpendicular t...
Thu, Sep 20 2012, 10:22 AM
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Here's a loan officer in
Washington facing 10-14 years for falsifying documents .
Will those in the ...
Wed, Sep 19 2012, 12:05 PM
Existing home sales and home prices both
improved in August, with sales rising 7.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted
annual basis. According to in...
Wed, Sep 19 2012, 11:27 AM
"Rob , how the heck are we supposed to know what any financial asset is
worth? For many years the government has given farm subsidies, sugar cane
s...
Tue, Sep 18 2012, 12:07 PM
The National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) which measures builder
confidence hit a six year high in Se...
Tue, Sep 18 2012, 3:25 PM
Fannie Mae's economists are
predicting continued slow growth in the second half of the year. The first half was marked by improvements in
some eco...
Mon, Sep 17 2012, 11:57 AM
We, including my old college roommate "Slugbreath," find
ourselves in "Unmarried and Single
Americans Week." The Buckeye Singles Council "National...
Mon, Sep 17 2012, 11:39 AM
Lawrence
Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said Monday
that there would be enormous benefits to the nation's econ...
Thu, Sep 13 2012, 5:48 PM
The Departments of Treasury and Housing
and Urban Development released the August version of its monthly Housing
Scorecard this afternoon. The Sco...
Tue, Sep 11 2012, 10:45 AM
Two U.S. Senators have
reintroduced a bill which aimed at giving Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs)
financed homeowners with equity the some ...
Mon, Sep 10 2012, 2:51 PM
A net total of 19 housing markets were added to the National
Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Market Index in
September, brin...
Tue, Sep 4 2012, 12:15 PM
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR)
said that Realtors are expressing less confidence about overall
market conditions, buyer and seller traf...
Thu, Aug 30 2012, 10:18 AM
I can't walk by a magazine stand in a grocery store or an airport without
seeing a bunch of folks on the covers who are either in better shape than I...
Thu, Aug 30 2012, 8:35 AM
Foreclosed and pre-foreclosed homes
maintained their position as the source of over a fifth of U.S. home sales in
the second quarter of 2012. Twe...
Wed, Aug 29 2012, 10:47 AM
Pending home sales rose to the highest
level in over two years last month according to the Pending Home Sales Index
for July released by the Nationa...
Tue, Aug 28 2012, 11:03 AM
There's an old saying that there are no Republican folks songs. But now,
at least, there are Yiddish curses for Republican Jews: link
Continuin...
Mon, Aug 27 2012, 11:10 AM
Well, this is the week that many Secondary Marketing folks have been
dreading. It is the last week of the
month after a sell-off, and there are ple...
Fri, Aug 24 2012, 11:53 AM
As I've gotten older I've developed the unusual ability to stare at
something and not see it. I am particularly good at doing this with car keys on
...
Thu, Aug 23 2012, 11:57 AM
New home sales rose in July to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 372,000 units. According to a joint release from the U.S.
Census Bureau and th...
Thu, Aug 23 2012, 11:34 AM
I was in Kansas yesterday, and saw a sign, "Ladies, if a man says he is going to fix something, he will.
There is no need to remind him every six mo...
Wed, Aug 22 2012, 12:09 PM
Sales
of existing homes increased nationally in July to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 4.47 million units . This is an
increase of 2.3 per...
Wed, Aug 22 2012, 8:07 AM
In yesterday morning's article, we discussed the recent consolidation of 10yr Treasury yields in the context of "Flag/Pennant" formations ( Read It ...
Wed, Aug 22 2012, 2:24 PM
This is a frightening statistic, probably one of the most worrisome in
recent years: 25% of mortgage bankers and Realtors in the country are on
medi...
Mon, Aug 20 2012, 11:25 AM
If you have some spare change sitting around, a $1.7 billion portfolio of
non-performing, federally insured home loans will be offered for sale at
a...
Fri, Aug 17 2012, 11:53 AM
Yes, the mortgage volume pie is shrinking , but rest assured that the
pieces are growing larger for the remaining originators.
Psssst! Want a coo...
Wed, Aug 15 2012, 11:44 AM
Builder confidence as measured by the National
Association of Home Builders ( NAHB )/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index ( HMI )
increased for the fou...
Thu, Aug 9 2012, 9:32 AM
Despite what it termed "decidedly good
news over the past quarter" regarding house prices, Frank Nothaft, Chief
Economist of Freddie Mac said today ...
Fri, Aug 3 2012, 4:39 PM
The Administration's Monthly Housing
Scorecard for July contained little in the way of new information. The Scorecard is a summary of housing data
...
Tue, Jul 31 2012, 10:45 AM
The home price picture showed further improvement
with the release this morning of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
(HPI) for May. Both th...
Mon, Jul 30 2012, 10:17 AM
"Rob, with the Wells news earlier this month, and FAMC's comp change
last week, I am hearing rumors of all kinds of price and investor changes .
On...
Thu, Jul 26 2012, 10:19 AM
To no surprise to the industry, Wells Fargo remained the largest
U.S. mortgage originator in the second quarter although its market share
dropped ...
Thu, Jul 26 2012, 10:14 AM
Pending homes sales declined in June,
slipping 1.4 percent on the Pending Home Sales Index released this morning by
the National Association of Rea...
Wed, Jul 25 2012, 10:09 AM
"Rob, I've read that wholesale lending accounted for only 5% of
Wells Fargo's volumes. Only 5%? What are you hearing about its remaining
business an...
Wed, Jul 25 2012, 1:21 PM
Sales of new homes dropped significantly
in June according to information released this morning by the U.S. Census
Bureau and the Department of Hou...
Mon, Jul 23 2012, 10:19 AM
"Rob, do you think that there is any chance that investors will
start lowering their minimum net worth requirements?" In my opinion, no .
In this e...
Fri, Jul 20 2012, 11:41 AM
On Thursday, Fannie 3.5% securities (composed of 3.75-4.125% 30-yr
mortgages) traded at a 6 (yes, six) point premium . Put another way, 106.
Fannie...
Thu, Jul 19 2012, 11:32 AM
Existing-home sales declined 5.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted annual basis to 4.37 million from an upwardly-revised 4.62 million in May. Econom...
Thu, Jul 19 2012, 9:56 AM
Yesterday we all learned what lock desks and pricing engines already
knew: mortgage applications in the U.S. jumped last week by the most in a month....
Tue, Jul 17 2012, 11:44 AM
Builder confidence took its biggest leap
in nearly a decade according to data released this morning by the National
Association of Home Builders (...
Mon, Jul 16 2012, 11:17 AM
em·i·nent
do·main : Noun - "The right of a government or its agent to expropriate private
property for public use, with payment of compensation."
...
Fri, Jul 6 2012, 3:52 PM
The June
Housing Scorecard, a joint publication of the U.S. Departments of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) and Treasury, was released this after...
Thu, Jun 28 2012, 9:19 AM
Remember that scene in Apollo 13 when it dawns on the astronauts that
NASA doesn't know how to get them back? Regarding our economy, one can imagine
...
Wed, Jun 27 2012, 11:11 AM
Pending home sales in May bounced
back to match March numbers which were the highest seen in two years. The
improvement was broad-based, affecting ...
Wed, Jun 27 2012, 10:14 AM
I have been subtly warning groups during speeches, and writing in this commentary, about the implications of Basel III. Most of the focus is on servic...
Mon, Jun 25 2012, 11:21 AM
Sales of new single-family homes increased to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 369,000 in May from a rate of 343,000 in April
according to figu...
