Today, 4:35 PM
Roughly Unchanged After Gradual Weakness
Bonds ended the day roughly unchanged despite this morning's strong...
Today, 2:41 PM
The good news is that mortgage rates ended the day at their lowest levels of the week. That's welcome news after Monday's rates matched the highest se...
Today, 1:59 PM
Residential construction rebounded in June as housing starts and completions recovered from May's unusually weak levels, though building permits conti...
Today, 1:51 PM
Pending home sales declined in June as elevated mortgage rates and record-high home prices continued to weigh on buyer demand. The National Associatio...
Today, 1:40 PM
Builder sentiment weakened further in July as affordability challenges and ongoing economic uncertainty continued to weigh on the market for new singl...
Today, 1:31 PM
Mortgage application volume declined again last week as higher borrowing costs weighed on home purchase demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)...
Today, 11:44 AM
I was speaking with a friend recently, and I asked her what she does for lunch. She replied, “Zentangle.” Yup, it’s a thing, something that wasn’t aro...
Today, 9:35 AM
In a month where bonds have made a visible reconnection with fuel prices thanks to the Iran war resurgence, there have been several notable departures...
Thu, Jul 16 2026, 4:46 PM
Ultimately Uneventful Despite Modest Weakness
Bonds lost ground modestly today with the ultimate damage bein...
Thu, Jul 16 2026, 3:27 PM
While some news stories suggest that rates are the highest in 11 months today, that's not quite true. The highest rates of the year were seen on July ...
Thu, Jul 16 2026, 11:54 AM
Nearly every lender is at least learning about AI, but on the flip side there are things like New York’s ban on data centers. Lenders and vendors are ...
Thu, Jul 16 2026, 11:26 AM
The term "crack spread" is quickly becoming mainstream--especially over the past few weeks. It's more of a concept than a specific metric, but it most...
Wed, Jul 15 2026, 3:43 PM
Wednesday's Gains Had More Staying Power Than Tuesday's
Both Tuesday's CPI and Wednesday's PPI came in much ...
Wed, Jul 15 2026, 2:40 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower again today following another lower-than-expected reading on an inflation report. Yesterday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) ha...
Wed, Jul 15 2026, 11:44 AM
Certainly the cost gap between renting and owning is widening, and the press is filled with stories that our borrowers see, and MLOs should read, like...
Wed, Jul 15 2026, 9:20 AM
The Producer Price Index (PPI) is not normally a huge market mover, but it has its moments of moderate impact. Today is such a moment as PPI did its b...
Tue, Jul 14 2026, 4:42 PM
Why Were 10yr Yields Only a Few bps Lower Today?
If you missed this morning's commentary, the gist is that i...
Tue, Jul 14 2026, 3:17 PM
Our daily 30yr fixed rate index hit 6.75% yesterday. This matched the high from May 19th and is the highest level since late July 29, 2025. The key co...
Tue, Jul 14 2026, 11:22 AM
Ever heard someone say something that was blatantly misleading? On July 16, at 2PM ET, you can race to buy one of Olive Garden’s 10,000 “Never Ending ...
Tue, Jul 14 2026, 8:56 AM
The Consumer Price Index came in FAR below expectations with a core reading of 0.0 vs 0.2 forecasts. In unrounded terms, it was -0.17%. Headline CPI w...
Mon, Jul 13 2026, 4:12 PM
Interest rates are based on bonds. Because the bonds underlying the average mortgage are fixed rate, inflation is the enemy. Imagine you're an investo...
Mon, Jul 13 2026, 11:55 AM
Recently, MISMO released its new white paper, “From Paper to Performance: How eNotes and eClosing Streamline Liquidity,” providing guidance for origin...
Mon, Jul 13 2026, 9:21 AM
Bonds are weaker to start the new week and the catalyst is simple. The U.S. ramped up air strikes in Iran, both in terms of number and distance inland...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 3:50 PM
Some Bond-Specific Weakness in The Afternoon
Oil and Treasury yields were almost perfectly correlated for al...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 2:39 PM
Rates are based on bonds and bonds have been taking cues from oil prices this week. Oil was flat overnight, bringing bonds along for the sideways ride...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 2:25 PM
Existing-home sales eased in June after reaching a six-month high in May, as modest changes in mortgage rates continued to influence buyer activity. A...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 2:21 PM
Mortgage application activity slipped modestly last week as both purchase and refinance demand eased during the holiday-shortened period. The Mortgage...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 11:06 AM
Did you know that 53 percent of statistics are made up on the spot? “Rob, you recently mentioned that 30 percent of repeat buyers paid cash and did no...
Fri, Jul 10 2026, 10:05 AM
The entire week has been a study in the rekindled love affair between bond yields and oil prices. The latter is fairly flat versus yesterday's latest ...
Thu, Jul 9 2026, 4:11 PM
Slightly Stronger But There's a Catch
Bonds had a decent day with MBS up more than a quarter point and 10yr ...
Thu, Jul 9 2026, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates were rapidly approaching 10-month highs as of yesterday afternoon. They managed a friendly bounce today, but it was fairly small with t...
Thu, Jul 9 2026, 11:41 AM
This morning, we head to Los Angeles, the site of the fires in the Pacific Palisades area in January 2025. Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced th...
Thu, Jul 9 2026, 9:49 AM
Bonds are starting the day just a hair stronger versus yesterday's close and there are three ways to look at it. At the most basic level, the move is ...
Wed, Jul 8 2026, 3:50 PM
More War-Related Weakness, But With a Supportive Bounce
Bonds officially closed at the highest yields in mor...
Wed, Jul 8 2026, 3:03 PM
Mortgage rates have moved higher at a moderate pace over the past 2 days as tensions between The U.S. and Iran see a resurgence. As far as the underly...
Wed, Jul 8 2026, 12:01 PM
STRATMOR Group has opened participation for its 2026 Compensation Connection® Study, providing mortgage-specific insights into compensation components...
Wed, Jul 8 2026, 9:27 AM
Iran-related headlines have jumped back to the realm of relevance this week and Wednesday morning's overnight session kicked things up another notch. ...
Tue, Jul 7 2026, 3:18 PM
Hormuz Back in The News
Iran has attacked a few cargo ships recently and there are repercussions. The peace ...
Tue, Jul 7 2026, 2:53 PM
It's been a while since oil prices were the focal point of the interest rate conversation, but that recently familiar dynamic is once again playing ou...
Tue, Jul 7 2026, 10:54 AM
During a recent trip overseas, I spoke to a banker who stated, “Technology doesn’t stop at the border.” True. The days of writing out this Commentary ...
Tue, Jul 7 2026, 9:46 AM
From summertime Monday to summertime Tuesday... Yesterday's modest strength is now erased by today's modest weakness. In both cases, the movement is t...
Mon, Jul 6 2026, 4:03 PM
Uneventful Summertime Monday
Volume and--sometimes--volatility can be generally lower in the middle of the s...
Mon, Jul 6 2026, 3:23 PM
Volatility is always a risk surrounding 3 day holiday weekends when it comes to markets and mortgage rates, but this time around, things have been ver...
Mon, Jul 6 2026, 11:58 AM
One of the key selling points for an LO talking to a potential client about becoming a homeowner is the landlord/client relationship, which can go awr...
Mon, Jul 6 2026, 10:19 AM
Bonds weathered the 3-day weekend without issue. We started the day modestly stronger, but have moved back closer to unchanged levels in the first 2 h...
Thu, Jul 2 2026, 2:17 PM
Not Reading Too Much Into Late Day Reversal
Bonds rallied quickly in response to this morning's jobs report ...
Thu, Jul 2 2026, 1:05 PM
Today is a half day for financial markets, which is a typical feature of a federal holiday weekend. Because tomorrow is fully closed, the big jobs rep...
Thu, Jul 2 2026, 11:50 AM
Mortgage application activity was essentially unchanged last week, as a modest increase in purchase demand offset a slight decline in refinancing. The...
Thu, Jul 2 2026, 11:43 AM
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported on the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the first...
Thu, Jul 2 2026, 11:40 AM
Home price appreciation remained subdued in April, as the latest data from both FHFA and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices continue...
