Thu, Feb 22 2024, 1:23 PM
Prospects for the spring market look a bit brighter as January numbers show an increase in both the pace of existing home sales and the size of the un...
Thu, Feb 22 2024, 12:14 PM
Rates are "data dependent" and the two biggest pieces of economic data are CPI and the big jobs report. Neither are on today's calendar, but there wa...
Thu, Feb 22 2024, 10:49 AM
Did someone say, “National Margarita Day”? (Splendid timing, especially as vendors and lenders contemplate a rate and volume environment that may not ...
Wed, Feb 21 2024, 4:57 PM
Rates Testing Ceilings After Bond Auction and European Weakness
Bonds managed to start the day in modestly s...
Wed, Feb 21 2024, 4:20 PM
In the short term, mortgage rates haven't experienced any extreme movement since earlier in the month, but a slow trickle of weakness is starting to a...
Wed, Feb 21 2024, 2:36 PM
There’s an old LO joke, telling their client, “When you’re buying a house, be sure to do it with a significant other, and make sure that one of you ha...
Wed, Feb 21 2024, 12:29 PM
Bonds had a generally constructive day to start the holiday-shortened week yesterday, with yields rallying in the morning and ultimately holding modes...
Wed, Feb 21 2024, 8:43 AM
Higher interest rates continued to depress mortgage applications last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a ...
Tue, Feb 20 2024, 4:27 PM
Slow Start as Markets Wait For Inspiration
Bonds got off to a slow start despite the holiday-shortened week....
Tue, Feb 20 2024, 4:18 PM
Most mortgage lenders set rates for the first time this week on Tuesday (today) due to yesterday's holiday. Federal holidays mean banks are closed wh...
Tue, Feb 20 2024, 11:26 AM
Two vultures are in a field, eating a dead clown. One vulture says to the other, "Does this taste funny to you?" The last thing you want to hear about...
Tue, Feb 20 2024, 10:20 AM
Bonds were moving with a clear purpose at the end of 2023 before embarking on a small, logical correction at the beginning of 2024. In terms of 10yr ...
Fri, Feb 16 2024, 5:17 PM
At present, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the jobs report are the two most important considerations for interest rate momentum as far as economic...
Fri, Feb 16 2024, 5:02 PM
Inflation Surprises Delay The Decision
In the short term, it's nice to see that today's massively higher PP...
Fri, Feb 16 2024, 11:56 AM
If CPI is a 10 out of 10 on a scale of economic data that causes bond market volatility, PPI is never more than a 5. It's a good thing too. All it t...
Fri, Feb 16 2024, 11:10 AM
Even though the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the third consecutive increase in its measure of home builder confidence, actual...
Fri, Feb 16 2024, 10:42 AM
It was a sad day earlier this week for anyone who likes food out of a toaster as the inventor of Pop-Tarts passed away at age 96. (Yes, Pop-Tarts were...
Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:43 PM
Reasons For Hope And Caution Heading Into 3-Day Weekend
First off, "hope" and "caution" have different meani...
Thu, Feb 15 2024, 4:21 PM
While weekly mortgage rate indices are pointing out the sharp jump from last Wednesday's levels, daily rates have fallen twice in a row. The peak was...
Thu, Feb 15 2024, 11:01 AM
In my travels I’ve eaten some unusual foods, although maybe not this unusual, but here in Boise the talk is about how unusual it is that applications ...
Thu, Feb 15 2024, 9:57 AM
Apart from CPI and NFP there are only a handful of other reports that truly deserve to be considered supporting actors in the current bond market dram...
Wed, Feb 14 2024, 5:23 PM
As is often the case, there are a few ways to look at rates at the moment. In the medium term, we can still take heart in the fact that rates are abo...
Wed, Feb 14 2024, 5:22 PM
Refreshing Resilience, But Not Guaranteed
On a positive note, it was refreshing to see the bond market make ...
Wed, Feb 14 2024, 12:20 PM
Wednesday is shaping up to be a victory based on early trading, with bonds pushing back tentatively on yesterday's big sell-off. The emphasis is on t...
Wed, Feb 14 2024, 11:50 AM
Have you ever been to a chiropractor? You know, where there’s something out of alignment, you describe it to them, and then they work their magic? Her...
Wed, Feb 14 2024, 9:02 AM
Higher mortgage rates hindered application activity during the week ended February 9. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite...
Tue, Feb 13 2024, 3:55 PM
If it feels like there's been an inordinate amount of focus on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recently, today proved it was justified. It's not hard ...
Tue, Feb 13 2024, 3:16 PM
Unfortunately, Bonds Did Exactly What They Were Supposed to Do Today
Over the course of the past two weeks, ...
Tue, Feb 13 2024, 11:36 AM
In our biz, you never want to hear, “deception,” “targeting the elderly,” or “abusive tactics” related to a company. But there they are in this report...
Tue, Feb 13 2024, 9:58 AM
It is a very straightforward morning for the bond market, but not in any sort of pleasant way. There was a lot at stake heading into today's inflatio...
Mon, Feb 12 2024, 3:16 PM
After spiking to the highest levels in over a month last Monday, rates have held eerily steady. To be fair, the steadiness started the following day ...
Mon, Feb 12 2024, 3:14 PM
No Way to Know What CPI Looks Like Until We See It
Monday was very much a placeholder in the grand scheme. ...
Mon, Feb 12 2024, 11:36 AM
Why should lenders and vendors care about servicing? (STRATMOR’s current blog is titled, “It’s 2024: Do You Know Where Your Servicing Is?”) Not only d...
Mon, Feb 12 2024, 11:00 AM
Have you heard about the Consumer Price Index (CPI)? We can't shut up about it, largely because there's not much to talk about in terms of scheduled ...
Fri, Feb 9 2024, 5:19 PM
Near the end of last week, the title of the daily mortgage rate article was "Rates Right in Line With Long-Term Lows, But That Could Change on Friday....
Fri, Feb 9 2024, 4:14 PM
Uneventful Ceiling Defense
On a day where 10yr Treasury yields bounced multiple times at the 4.19% technical...
Fri, Feb 9 2024, 1:01 PM
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the one thing we wait for after the jobs report comes out. After CPI, the one thing becomes the next jobs report (a...
Fri, Feb 9 2024, 11:35 AM
Sometimes there is no shortcut when you want to make a lot of money. Speaking of making money, and creating wealth for clients, owning real estate con...
Thu, Feb 8 2024, 3:30 PM
Bonds Increasingly Look Like They're Waiting For CPI
It wouldn't be the first time and probably won't be the...
Thu, Feb 8 2024, 1:22 PM
Mortgage rates were technically a hair higher today when compared with yesterday's latest offerings, but it's just as fair to say they've been unchang...
Thu, Feb 8 2024, 12:55 PM
It's an interesting little interlude in the story of the bond market as yields wait to find out what's next after (probably) confirming long-term high...
Thu, Feb 8 2024, 11:17 AM
Economists have their favorite indices to measure the health of the economy. GDP, if men are buying underwear, CPI, RV shipments, GDP, plastic surgery...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 5:09 PM
Mortgage rates are based on trading in the bond market. As we saw last week, trading in the bond market can often be very exciting, even if that exci...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 5:04 PM
Fed Speakers on Repeat as Bonds Hit Snooze
After several days of heavy volatility, the bond market is drifti...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 11:11 AM
When this commentary gig gets old, I think I’ll take up… throwing needles? But so far so good, putting this out six days a week. Yesterday I glanced a...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 9:35 AM
After rising roughly 2bps yesterday afternoon, bond yields dropped just over 2bps right at the start of the overnight session with buzz surrounding Mo...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 8:44 AM
Mortgage application volume rose modestly during the week as mortgage rates marked time. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Comp...
Tue, Feb 6 2024, 4:09 PM
The past two business days (Friday and Monday) accounted for the 3rd largest increase in mortgage rates since March 2020. Friday, specifically, was t...
Tue, Feb 6 2024, 4:02 PM
Magical Mystery Rally
Whereas the bond market had obvious, individual motivations for all phases of the shar...
Tue, Feb 6 2024, 12:59 PM
When bond yields began spiking abruptly after last Friday's jobs report, one of the immediate saving graces was the fact that the late January highs w...
