Wed, Dec 23 2020, 8:36 AM
In its last report of 2020, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said refinancing represented nearly three-quarters of application activity during t...
Wed, Dec 23 2020, 8:30 AM
Today's econ calendar is quite a bit bigger than normal. It's also bigger than it would be if this was just any old week with a full 5 trading days. ...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 6:54 PM
Mortgage rates hit another all-time low on Friday for most lenders. Other lenders had slightly lower rates yesterday morning. Since then however, almo...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 3:38 PM
Volatility is Possible, But It Wasn't Possible Today
Bonds have decidedly engaged in a stereotypical year-en...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 11:26 AM
Existing home sales finally took a breather in November, breaking a five month stretch of gains, often substantial ones. The National Association of R...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 10:06 AM
I hope that everyone had a happy solstice yesterday, with a few folks writing to suggest that “It is the shortest day, of the longest year, of our liv...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 10:02 AM
With the passage of the stimulus/spending bill last night, the bond market cleared its last major hurdle for the week/month/quarter/year. By the time...
Tue, Dec 22 2020, 8:40 AM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended the timeframe for several of the relief programs it put into effect last spring thr...
Mon, Dec 21 2020, 4:23 PM
Bonds Still Sideways, But MBS Underperform
Bond yields and stock prices bottomed at the same time in the ove...
Mon, Dec 21 2020, 2:18 PM
The Urban Institute (UI) recently held a webinar with housing experts to look at distress in the housing market. In a report on the findings, research...
Mon, Dec 21 2020, 12:40 PM
While delinquencies are still elevated, especially those over 90 days, Black Knight's "first look" at November data notes a sixth consecutive monthly ...
Mon, Dec 21 2020, 9:27 AM
As we watch the second largest stimulus bill in history move toward passage, greetings from the Winter Solstice, the official start of winter and the ...
Fri, Dec 18 2020, 4:58 PM
2020 In The Books Apart From Token Stimulus Reaction
By the end of the trading day, congress was seemingly n...
Fri, Dec 18 2020, 10:47 AM
There was an increase in the number of loans in forbearance over the last week as the share within all lender portfolios, even the GSEs', moved higher...
Fri, Dec 18 2020, 10:44 AM
Freddie Mac is touting its readiness to transition from using the London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR...
Fri, Dec 18 2020, 10:39 AM
I don’t know what’s longer, a “regular” minute, “microwave” minute, or a “treadmill” minute. Speaking of time, if someone sends you an email saying, “...
Fri, Dec 18 2020, 9:51 AM
Next week, the bond market will only be open for 3.5 days. In that time, the bond market will see a majority of its 'year-end' trades (asset allocati...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 5:50 PM
2020 has safely secured its place in the record books as the year of all-time lows in mortgage rates --one of them anyway. Several other years have re...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 4:03 PM
Seasonally Sideways Sans Stimulus
With Fed day behind us, the much-anticipated stimulus/spending bill is all...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 1:53 PM
In November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a new regulatory capital framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs). At the t...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 10:30 AM
While housing completions were down, residential construction improved again in November . Permitting was especially strong with a 6.2 percent month-o...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 10:22 AM
According to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report, loans closed during November had an average note rate of 2.97 percent. The 30-year note rate for ...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 10:07 AM
Who would’ve thought that one day we’d be smoking weed at a family gathering, but the illegal part would be the family gathering? For most of us, fami...
Thu, Dec 17 2020, 8:58 AM
The combination of a friendly press conference with Fed Chair Powell and an unfriendly absence of change to the bond buying policy left the bond marke...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 4:36 PM
Today marked the release of an updated policy statement from the Federal Reserve. In other words, it was Fed day! Lots can happen on Fed days--especia...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 4:30 PM
Fed Abstains From Bond-Buying Change, But Powell Delivers
Speculation about whether or not the Fed would mak...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 2:02 PM
The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum ...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 12:27 PM
After setting successive survey highs in September, October, and November, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 10:30 AM
Mortgage application volume was relatively flat as the nation eased into the holiday season. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Co...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 10:09 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says applications for new home purchases suffered a significant downturn in November but remain well above the ...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 9:36 AM
A recent spate of positive news has allowed Fannie Mae to upgrade several pieces of its economic forecast this month. The approval of at least one COV...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 9:35 AM
Twenty-three housing and economic experts have told the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) they expect the post-pandemic economic rebound to cont...
Wed, Dec 16 2020, 9:33 AM
Fiscal stimulus has been a hot topic for the bond market since the pandemic first kicked into a high enough gear to require fiscal support for the US ...
Tue, Dec 15 2020, 5:12 PM
Mortgage rates were mixed today, depending on the lender. The bond market--the driving force behind interest rate movement--was stronger yesterday. Ma...
Tue, Dec 15 2020, 4:59 PM
What Exactly Might The Fed Do Tomorrow and Why Should We Care?
MBS suffered, somewhat, from supply/demand is...
Tue, Dec 15 2020, 10:12 AM
“We were so poor when I was a kid that we couldn’t afford tinsel. We had to wait for Grandpa to sneeze.” At the opposite end of the economic spectrum,...
Tue, Dec 15 2020, 9:54 AM
With the exception of a surprise stimulus plan announcement or a huge departure from expectations in certain economic reports, the bond market is lock...
Mon, Dec 14 2020, 3:15 PM
Bonds Catch a Break From Downbeat Headlines; Fed Still in Focus
Wednesday's Fed announcement is the biggest ...
Mon, Dec 14 2020, 9:11 AM
Between vaccines, Brexit, covid surges, covid lockdowns, holiday retail, and various political headlines, it seems like the market should have a diver...
Fri, Dec 11 2020, 5:58 PM
An Epic Tale of Mortgage Rates vs MBS vs Treasuries
Risks are beginning to mount for the rate outlook--at le...
Fri, Dec 11 2020, 11:33 AM
The various types of foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions, and actual lender repossessions - declined in November. RealtyTrac, a ...
Fri, Dec 11 2020, 10:26 AM
The past few months have seen several troubling, but not unexpected developments for the long-term rate outlook. While they're not the type of thre...
Thu, Dec 10 2020, 4:06 PM
Bonds Are Getting Ready to Move, Probably
Bonds are always moving, to some extent, but they haven't moved ou...
Thu, Dec 10 2020, 4:05 PM
It's old news that 2020 is unprecedented for a lot of bad reasons, but how about a few that aren't so bad? As is often the case when anything causes m...
Thu, Dec 10 2020, 10:08 AM
One interesting theme that's emerging in December is that of weaker economic data actually hurting the bond market. This is certainly not in the conv...
Thu, Dec 10 2020, 9:59 AM
“My ability to remember song lyrics from the 80s far exceeds my ability to remember why I walked into the kitchen.” The Baby Boomers are certainly rid...
Thu, Dec 10 2020, 9:48 AM
Homeowner equity rose again in the third quarter of 2020, reaching the highest total in over six years. CoreLogic's quarterly report on that asset say...
Wed, Dec 9 2020, 4:47 PM
MBS-Specific Volatility Today, But No Major Change to Bigger-Picture
A fresh (or perhaps "slightly less stal...
Wed, Dec 9 2020, 4:46 PM
While all is easily forgiven in light of all-time low rates, the pandemic made a mess of the mortgage market in many ways. Most messes have been resol...
Wed, Dec 9 2020, 10:05 AM
Last night, a new stimulus plan was floated to Pelosi by Mnuchin. In theory, it includes provisions for several democratic sticking points, thus offe...
