Tue, Jul 13 2021, 11:48 AM
The share of mortgages originated for home purchases hit its highest level since February of 2020 in May. ICE Mortgage Technology's Origination Insigh...
Tue, Jul 13 2021, 11:19 AM
When one thinks of a Constitutional Amendment, many think of the 2nd amendment (right to bear arms, 1789), 13th (end of slavery, 1865), or the 16th (c...
Tue, Jul 13 2021, 9:16 AM
We came into today expecting some asymmetric risk in favor of the bond market due to the recent tendency to take inflation numbers in stride. In simp...
Mon, Jul 12 2021, 3:56 PM
Still on a Fence as Bonds Work Through Early-Week Risks
We closed out last week on a fence about the short t...
Mon, Jul 12 2021, 11:41 AM
There was, as expected, a huge improvement in the number of forbearance plans during the week ended July 6. Black Knight reports that the number of ho...
Mon, Jul 12 2021, 11:38 AM
I head to San Diego today for the CAMP event as the industry continues to change back to in-person events. There is always change. (How’s that for an ...
Mon, Jul 12 2021, 9:18 AM
Last week ended on a bittersweet note as a surprisingly strong rally was met with big push-back on Friday. The jury was out as to whether we were wit...
Fri, Jul 9 2021, 2:23 PM
Bigger Picture Bounce or Just Another Pre-Weekend Pause
Bonds were moderately to sharply weaker overnight an...
Fri, Jul 9 2021, 1:37 PM
Even though rates rebounded to slightly higher levels on Friday, the week generally brought pleasant surprises as the mortgage market returned to leve...
Fri, Jul 9 2021, 10:42 AM
Someone once said, “A loss is not a failure until you make an excuse.” You can apply that to politics or to sports. Or to business. No company wants t...
Fri, Jul 9 2021, 9:17 AM
Big changes in the economic landscape bring big opportunities to consider whether bonds are priced where they should be. The entire spring and summer...
Thu, Jul 8 2021, 4:20 PM
Impressive Move to Longer-Term Lows. What's Next?
The centerpiece of today's global trading session was an ...
Thu, Jul 8 2021, 2:58 PM
With yesterday's mortgage rates already near longer-term lows, all it took was a modest improvement for today's rates to officially hit their best lev...
Thu, Jul 8 2021, 11:38 AM
Fannie Mae said "Consumers are increasingly adamant that it's a good time to sell, bad time to buy a home" as it released its June Home Purchase Senti...
Thu, Jul 8 2021, 11:34 AM
I head to Salt Lake City today, and on the way to the airport thought to myself, with all the technological and scientific advances being made, the fo...
Thu, Jul 8 2021, 8:59 AM
A more and more vocal contingent of traders and analysts began calling for "1.25% before 1.75%" over the past 2 months and they were rewarded overnigh...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 4:14 PM
We recently summarized a report from the Urban Institute (UI) about the apparent reluctance of sellers to entertain offers from prospective buyers int...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 4:04 PM
Traders Shrug Off Fed Minutes to Keep buying Bonds
Hindsight is 20/20 and it now seems clear that traders we...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 3:04 PM
Mortgage rates have fallen fairly consistently over the past 2.5 weeks with the past 2 days seeing some of the better improvements. There haven't been...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 11:52 AM
Sorry the commentary was a little late today. I was on the phone dealing with my car’s extended warranty. Per the personalized recording, they’ve been...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 9:38 AM
Whether it's an imperfect catch-all term like "tradeflows," or a similarly imprecise reference to the "unseen hand," bonds often find motivation from ...
Wed, Jul 7 2021, 8:08 AM
The week preceding the Independence Day holiday saw a further decline in mortgage applications for both home purchases and refinancing. The Mortgage B...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 4:09 PM
CoreLogic report for May is yet another reporting home prices are still moving higher. May's year-over-year appreciation of 15.4 percent was the highe...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 4:07 PM
The Urban Institute (UI) says it appears that the current sellers' market is having a negative impact on government backed loans and the borrowers who...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 4:04 PM
The past week saw a moderate drop in the number of loans in forbearance, but Black Knight, in its report for the week ended June 29, said the upcoming...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 4:00 PM
Strong Start to a Slow Week
Bonds rallied today, both before and after the weak ISM Non-Manufacturing data. ...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 11:08 AM
Dang it is becoming more and more expensive to follow all the rules and regulations to originate residential loans. These costs, of course, are borne ...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 9:36 AM
2021 began with heavy selling pressure in bonds following the Georgia senate election (which gave full control of congress and the White House to one ...
Fri, Jul 2 2021, 3:34 PM
What To Make of The Post-NFP Rally
Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) beat forecasts (850k vs 700k), which is normally s...
Fri, Jul 2 2021, 11:27 AM
I realize that this is a commentary about lending, but it is good for MLOs to be cognizant of what their real estate agent client’s clients want… In a...
Fri, Jul 2 2021, 9:03 AM
While the headline for nonfarm payrolls (850k vs 700k f'cast) seems like cause for concern at first glance, the bond market is digesting it well so fa...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 4:24 PM
Mortgage rates have had several good weeks now after being dealt a blow by the Fed announcement on June 16th. Said "blow" is relative , to say the lea...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 3:14 PM
Uneventful Start to Q3, But Tomorrow is a Wild Card
There's always some risk that the first trading day of a...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 11:27 AM
Construction spending fell off a bit in May, however residential construction remains the strongest sector , accounting for more than half the annuali...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 11:25 AM
Pending home sales in April unnerved a lot of people. At what should have been a high point in the spring market, they fell 4.4 percent from the previ...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 11:00 AM
Halfway done with 2021?! Yes, time is flying, and summer is here. The weather service just published instructions on how to bake a lasagna in your mai...
Thu, Jul 1 2021, 9:36 AM
The simple concept of timing is often underappreciated as a market mover. For instance, 820am and 3pm ET can often be sources of volatility simply be...
Wed, Jun 30 2021, 4:29 PM
Mortgage rates fell again today--now officially below the lowest levels in the past 2 weeks. In order to accomplish that, rates had to fully erase the...
Wed, Jun 30 2021, 4:11 PM
Failed Breakout Puts More Emphasis on End-of-Week Events
Notice that the headline didn't invoke "the jobs re...
Wed, Jun 30 2021, 10:57 AM
“Adam and Eve were the first people not to read the Apple terms and conditions.” Who has actually read their phone’s manual? Technology marches on, wi...
Wed, Jun 30 2021, 9:41 AM
Some people may pine for Fridays due to the end of a work week, or perhaps as the start of an extended weekend (as is the case with the impending exam...
Wed, Jun 30 2021, 9:34 AM
Mortgage applications fell sharply last week, affecting both refinance and purchase components of the Mortgage Banker Association's (MBA's) Market Com...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 4:10 PM
Strong Data, But Even Stronger Sideways Grind
Bonds started the day in slightly weaker territory but moved v...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 3:12 PM
Mortgage rates are primarily a function of trading levels in the bond market and bonds have enjoyed (or suffered) an interesting mix of volatility and...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 1:17 PM
The government stakeholders involved in the various pandemic related forbearance programs appear to be directing their full attention to their upcomin...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 1:14 PM
When the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller and Federal Housing Finance Agency's price reports for March were released we wrote that the superlatives were get...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 10:57 AM
Ginnie Mae sent out a press release last week could create some confusion for those readers who only skimmed the lede. The opening paragraph states th...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 10:45 AM
Say what you will about huge companies not having an impact on housing, MLOs can’t ignore the fact that they’re here. The latest example is global rea...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 9:21 AM
Since the 2nd week of June, the bond market has been operating in a fairly narrow range with trading momentum being largely flat in the bigger picture...
Mon, Jun 28 2021, 4:38 PM
Monday Giveth
Summertime weekend trading dynamics are sadly a source of motivation for bond markets--especia...
