Thu, Mar 11 2021, 12:43 PM
Roughly 60 percent of U.S. households are effectively priced out of the new home market according to 2021 estimates from the National Association of H...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 11:24 AM
With all the hundreds of thousands of borrowers around the nation left to refinance, lenders are understandably concerned about mortgage rates creepin...
Thu, Mar 11 2021, 10:31 AM
Yesterday's much-anticipated 10yr auction was extremely underwhelming. Combine that with fairly flat trading levels at the moment and the mortgage co...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 4:01 PM
Reasons For Both Hope and Caution
Today's 10yr auction was average, but that performance followed a mid-d...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 11:33 AM
CoreLogic's December 2020 Loan Performance Insights report was upbeat, citing positive signs of recovery after a rocky year in which a pandemic and re...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 10:02 AM
Today I head off on a business trip to Georgia for a few days, which reminded me that yesterday’s commentary had some state facts. As expected, people...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 10:02 AM
2021's rate spike is big enough and has been going on long enough that there is widespread speculation about how much worse it could get. While it is...
Wed, Mar 10 2021, 8:44 AM
Mortgage application volume turned lower again this week after longer term rates rose again, pulling more steam out of refinancing. The Mortgage Banke...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 4:16 PM
Wednesday's 10yr Auction Could Cast a Big Vote on a Bounce
With bonds coming into the session in much strong...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 4:15 PM
At this point, no one should be surprised to hear that mortgage rates have moved significantly higher in 2021--especially in the past few weeks. There...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 10:38 AM
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) declined slightly in February as did four of its six components. The Index, based on a sample of ans...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 9:58 AM
Much like February 26th, overnight strength in the bond market allows us to ask the same obvious question: "is this the bounce?" Much like Feb 26th, ...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 9:56 AM
Does anyone agree on anything anymore? In the past, state trivia was fun because everyone agreed on it. No one will disagree that Alaska is the northe...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 3:38 PM
3-Day Weekend for Volatility; Waiting on Supply
After Friday's bond market rout, today's relatively calm tra...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 10:27 AM
Last year was a record setting one when it comes to mortgage origination according to Black Knight's January Mortgage Monitor. It puts the total volum...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 10:04 AM
Over the past 3-4 months, the prospect of fiscal stimulus has done major damage to the bond market. It wouldn't have been a surprise to see more weak...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 9:43 AM
Let’s start the week with a gaggle of questions. Do you feel old knowing that Taylor Swift is older than the four Beatles were when they broke up? Hav...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 5:28 PM
Huge Jobs Report, Logical Weakness, and a Nice Bounce, But...
Bonds did quite well today considering Powell'...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 11:54 AM
A new policy paper from the Urban Institute (UI) looks at the recent amendments to the senior preferred stock purchase agreement (PSPA) agreed to by o...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 11:43 AM
As Black Knight has repeatedly predicted, end of February expirations drove the number of mortgage loans in forbearance lower this past week. There wa...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 11:37 AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed to delay the mandatory compliance date of the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule ...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 10:30 AM
Today began with Nonfarm Payrolls coming in at 379k vs 182k forecast. Last month's numbers were revised up to 166k from 49k. The unemployment rate t...
Fri, Mar 5 2021, 9:59 AM
In the legal field, virtual litigation is thought to be here to stay, vaccine or no vaccine. And as the pandemic continues, and remote hiring continue...
Thu, Mar 4 2021, 5:27 PM
Mortgage rates jumped quickly today after Q&A session with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. What did he say to cause such drama? Actually, it's mo...
Thu, Mar 4 2021, 4:19 PM
Powell Does Exactly What He Was Supposed To (And Bonds Didn't Like It)
From this AM: "some recent analysis h...
Thu, Mar 4 2021, 2:57 PM
There seems to be a fair amount of surprise and confusion surrounding today's bond market sell-off in response to Fed Chair Powell's Q&A with the WSJ....
Thu, Mar 4 2021, 9:56 AM
Welcome to the only day where the date is a command. Owners of shopping malls wish they could command everyone to go shopping in one. When was the las...
Thu, Mar 4 2021, 9:29 AM
Monday and Tuesday brought a stronger start for bonds and, with it, hopes that a broader bounce was in the works. Wednesday dashed those hopes and in...
Wed, Mar 3 2021, 3:51 PM
MBS Outperform, But Bonds Fail To Confirm The Bounce
Tuesday's gains increased odds that a friendly bounce w...
Wed, Mar 3 2021, 10:52 AM
To listen to the audio version of today’s commentary with an interview with STRATMOR Group’s resident recovering accountant Jim Cameron on handy metri...
Wed, Mar 3 2021, 9:30 AM
Bonds had a great day yesterday--not so much because the rally covered a ton of ground, but rather because it helped build a case for the end of the m...
Wed, Mar 3 2021, 8:25 AM
Mortgage application volume rose for the first time in four weeks during the week ended February 26, but it was only a marginal increase. The Mortgage...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 4:40 PM
In the past 2 decades , there have been 6 months where mortgage rates rose at least 50 basis points. February 2021 was one of them. Moreover, it was o...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 4:25 PM
Much Better Day For Bonds. Dare We Discuss It?
A fairly flat morning gave way to an afternoon rally, especia...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 12:22 PM
CoreLogic says home prices in January were 10 percent higher than a year earlier. It was the first double digit increase in the company's Home Price I...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 10:28 AM
What happens to homeowners and landlords when the federal, state, and local protections put in place during the pandemic go away? The Consumer Financi...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 10:18 AM
As a kid, magic tricks are amazing because we think there is magic. As an adult, magics tricks are amazing because we know there is no magic. Lenders ...
Tue, Mar 2 2021, 9:34 AM
- The absence of stronger gains this week means bonds remain inside their short-term uptrend (see chart)
- 100% focus on UMBS 2.5 coupon (why?)
...
Mon, Mar 1 2021, 4:00 PM
Construction expenditures started 2021 displaying the same imbalance between the growth of residential and non-residential spending that had dominated...
Mon, Mar 1 2021, 3:57 PM
Too Strong to Give Up Hope. Too Weak to Rest Easy
- New week, new month, new chance for yields to confirm a ...
Mon, Mar 1 2021, 10:13 AM
After Friday's impressive (and much-needed) bounce toward lower yields, the new week/month took on even greater importance than normal as a venue for ...
Mon, Mar 1 2021, 9:36 AM
With the jump up in mortgage rates Thursday, and the move back down Friday, a few lock desk personnel wrote to me over the weekend asking about ways o...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 5:49 PM
Rising rates have been on the menu for months, but the drama kicked into a higher gear this week. Maybe you heard about this? We've certainly been dis...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 5:47 PM
Nice Bounce! Now What?
- An early bounce turned into an even bigger, friendlier bounce at the end of the...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 2:42 PM
Black Knight reports a second increase in the number of loans in pandemic related forbearance plans in as many weeks. Forborne loans rose by 21,000 du...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 9:28 AM
Huh? Rates don’t continually go down and then stay there for an indefinite period of time? No, they don’t. There’s this opinion piece in the Wall Stre...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 9:15 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 16.1 percent in January compared to a 22.4 percent...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 9:11 AM
Deadlines for COVID-19 related relief for borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) mortgages were extended by the Federal Housing Finance Agenc...
Thu, Feb 25 2021, 5:28 PM
Mortgage rates WISH they were still at 2.97%--the number conveyed today by Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Freddie's data is accurate when it comes to ca...
Thu, Feb 25 2021, 4:58 PM
Just When You Thought It Wouldn't Get Much Worse
Staggeringly weak day for bonds.
2.0 MBS coupon is now ...
