http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/ Mortgage News Daily https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06302026 Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:57:11 GMT 6a43b1b62856cf1f28ad9193 Rob Chrisman Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Experian’s Likhitha Mahendar Singh how the modern first-time homebuyer has evolved, why rental payment data is reshaping how lenders identify mortgage-ready borrowers, and how a data-driven approach can help better target, underwrite, and serve the next generation of homeowners. Broker and Lender Software, Products, and Services Everyone in lending is waiting for one thing: the Fed to cut rates and the refi boom to follow. Stop waiting. 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Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mbs-morning-06302026 Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:21:52 GMT 6a43d1f8a6791958c52a3717 Matthew Graham Before looking at trading screens this morning, the first order of business would have been to mention the ramp up in economic calendar activity. While the line item count is respectable, it's really only the 10am Job Openings data that packs enough of a punch to represent any serious volatility risk. Even then, sometimes it hits and sometimes it doesn't. Bonds are starting out slightly weaker thanks to another dash of quarter-end position squaring. It arrived at almost the exact same time as the last Wednesday's installment, but in the form of selling instead of buying. Thankfully, it was a lot smaller and merely added about 2bps to 10yr yields (which remain well under the 4.42% technical level). Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mbs-recap-06292026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:25:43 GMT 6a42d4d8a6791958c52881fc Matthew Graham Volatility Risk Ramps Up From Here Monday made it clear that traders are playing by the typical summertime, holiday week rules which often see the first day of the week result in very low volume and volatility. While participation should remain lighter than normal, that's no guaranty of an ongoing absence of volatility. Even if there are fewer traders in the room, they can still move markets if econ data or Fed-speak (Warsh is on the calendar for Wednesday) bring any surprises. We're also interested to see if there are visible shifts that transcend data/news based on the recently outsized role of quarter-end rebalancing trades. Market Movement Recap 08:37 AM Flat overnight with mild selling at 8:20am. 10yr up 1.6bps at 4.383 and MBS down 3 ticks (.09). 12:30 PM 10yr up 1.4bps at 4.381 and MBS down 3 ticks (.09). 03:03 PM 10yr up half a bp at 4.373 and MBS down 1 tick (.03). Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mortgage-rates-06292026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:07:00 GMT 6a42c37548426d4ea2ea105e Matthew Graham Mortgage rates ended last week at the lowest level since May 14th. Most of the recent drop happened last Wednesday, but each day since then has added a microscopic improvement. Today was no exception with the 30yr fixed rate index falling a mere 0.01%--the lowest increment we measure. The calendar of economic events was completely empty and consequential news headlines were just as scarce. This will change over the next 3 days on at least one front. Big-ticket econ data comes out on each of the next 3 mornings. Thursday's jobs report is typically the most important scheduled monthly data, but each day carries at least some risk for volatility. Why only 3 more days this week? Because Friday is closed for the Independence Day observance. And when the bond market is closed, mortgage lenders don't generate new rate sheets (and typically aren't open to accept new locks). Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06292026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:29:44 GMT 6a4264c86d186c57733b2966 Rob Chrisman Lenders often ask about improving their execution, and STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.” MLOs occasionally ask about an online tool that can help potential borrowers understand the process. Here’s something for your new clients, especially those who are first-time home buyers: a short quiz to get them started on what to think about in financing a home. For those of us in the industry who ask about some of the terms in our business, here’s something to keep in your back pocket: The MISMO Business Glossary delivers a curated set of standardized business definitions used across the mortgage lifecycle. By providing consistent terminology, the glossary helps industry participants communicate more clearly, improve operational efficiency, and reduce misunderstandings that can lead to risk and errors. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Clear Capital’s Jason Legare on why appraisal modernization adoption remains uneven despite clear efficiency gains, where alternatives such as inspection-based waivers are gaining traction, and the operational and cultural barriers slowing broader acceptance.) Broker and Lender Software, Products, and Services Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mbs-morning-06292026 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:24:52 GMT 6a428e88a6791958c527f4b4 Matthew Graham At the risk of jinxing it, Monday is pretty much already in the back as an uneventful start to a holiday-shortened week (early close on Thursday and fully closed on Friday). Bonds were very flat overnight and are near unchanged levels in the first few hours. Unchanged is good in this case as it means we're holding in a friendlier trading range under the 4.42% technical level in 10yr yields. Today is the only data-free day of the week and the next 3 are action-packed by comparison. While we're expecting lower volume than normal due to the time of year and the holiday, this doesn't necessarily mean lower volatility. In fact, light volume often exacerbates volatility if there are big market movers in play (like Thursday's jobs report). We're also open to a bit of extra volatility on the first two days of the week as quarter-end trading wraps up. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mbs-recap-06262026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:51:07 GMT 6a3ef570a6791958c5233557 Matthew Graham Early Gains. Flat Afternoon. MBS Underperform Friday ended up offering a boring conclusion to a week that had at least some measure of excitement on Wednesday. Bonds started a hair stronger, lost ground modestly and then rallied to the day's best levels by noon. From there, 10yr yields went perfectly sideways in an ultra narrow range. MBS managed to hang on to just barely positive levels but gave up about an eighth of a point during the time Treasuries were holding steady. Technically, this is underperformance in a vacuum, but in the bigger picture, MBS have been doing just fine in relative terms. As a reminder, next week is 3.5 days thanks to Independence Day observance, and the jobs report will be on Thursday morning.  Market Movement Recap 09:04 AM Stronger overnight, but bouncing back a bit now. 10yr up 0.3bps and MBS unchanged. 12:04 PM Near strongest levels. MBS up an eighth and 10yr down 1.8bps at 4.373 04:29 PM Off strongest levels in MBS, now up only 2 ticks (.06). 10yr down 1.9bps at 4.372 Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mortgage-rates-06262026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:06:00 GMT 6a3ecee17f19115eae0e9257 Matthew Graham Mortgage rates officially hit their lowest level in more than a month yesterday with MND's 30yr fixed index falling to 6.53% from 6.55% on Wednesday. Today was completely unchanged at 6.53%, thus maintaining the lowest level since May 14th, 2026.  There weren't any dramatic developments behind the scenes in term of economic data or news headlines (not that we'd expect them when rates hold perfectly flat). This week's broader improvement can be attributed to buying demand in the bond market owing to large investors rebalancing their stock/bond portfolios before the end of the quarter. As the quarter officially ends early next week, new volatility could emerge. It could be further compounded by the more active slate of economic data culminating in Thursday's big jobs report--the biggest economic report on any given month. NOTE: the jobs report would normally be out on a Friday, but next Friday is the holiday observance for the 4th of July.  Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/news/06262026-new-home-sales Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:58:00 GMT 6a3ecd856c212214ed223427 Matthew Graham New home sales weakened further in May, extending the pullback seen over the past several months as elevated mortgage rates and affordability pressures continued to weigh on buyer demand. According to the latest Census Bureau and HUD data, sales of new single-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 , down 7.3% from April and 6.8% from a year earlier. Inventory continued to build, with the number of new homes for sale rising to 496,000 , up 2.3% from April, though still 1.4% below May 2025 levels. At the current sales pace, that left months' supply at 10.3 months , up from 9.3 months in April and 9.7 months one year ago. Home prices moved higher in May. The median sales price increased to $424,900 , up 2.0% from April and essentially unchanged from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the average sales price rose sharply to $540,600 , a 7.8% monthly increase and 5.0% above May 2025 levels. While the chart above is potentially alarming at first glance, it's always worth remembering 2 things: 1. New Home Sales data is notoriously choppy month to month, and prone to sometimes significant revisions. 2. Existing Home Sales run at an annual pace over 4 million (compared to New Home Sales at just under 600k), and they've been trending modestly higher in the past few months.  Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/news/06262026-mortgage-applications-mba Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:55:00 GMT 6a3ecbae6c212214ed223424 Matthew Graham Mortgage applications posted a modest increase last week, though overall activity remained subdued by historical standards as borrowing costs held relatively steady. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 1.0% increase in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 19. Refinance activity provided most of the support for the weekly gain. The Refinance Index increased 3% from the previous week and was 17% higher than the same period one year ago. Purchase demand slipped slightly but continued to hold above year-ago levels. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% from the prior week, while remaining 3% higher than the same week in 2025. “Mortgage rates changed little over the course of last week, despite the more hawkish tone from the FOMC at its June meeting,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and chief economist. “Purchase application volume edged slightly lower, while refinance activity posted modest gains. Despite the elevated mortgage rates and overall economic uncertainty, mortgage application volume is running 8 percent above year-ago levels.” Refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 41.5% from 40.3%, while the ARM share declined to 8.2% from 8.5%. Government-backed application shares were mixed. FHA share increased to 17.9% from 17.5%, while VA share decreased to 12.3% from 12.9%. USDA share rose to 0.5% from 0.4%. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/full