Tue, Jul 21 2020, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates have been holding a very narrow range since July 9th. They also hit new all-time lows on July 9th. A few of the days since then have be...
Tue, Jul 21 2020, 4:03 PM
"Flat" is an Understatement
Recent trading activity lies in stark contrast to the drama seen earlier in 2020...
Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:53 AM
One of the trends in attempts to provide more affordable housing is the growth of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as granny flats, garage apartme...
Tue, Jul 21 2020, 10:22 AM
Originators, as Deb from Virginia reminded me, are currently like ducks: cool and calm on the surface, paddling frantically underneath. Originators li...
Tue, Jul 21 2020, 9:00 AM
Recent trading activity lies in stark contrast to the drama seen earlier in 2020. Even at the beginning of June, bonds still had an interesting (and ...
Mon, Jul 20 2020, 2:57 PM
How Low Can Rates Eventually Go?
Until further notice, we can expect to see the bond market drift in a fairl...
Mon, Jul 20 2020, 9:40 AM
The bond market begins yet another week with rates in a holding pattern at historic lows. With coronavirus being the primary motivation for rates, it...
Mon, Jul 20 2020, 9:19 AM
After the shaman finished my taxes last week over the phone, we struck up a conversation about working from home, pros and cons, since it appears that...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 4:46 PM
Markets continue to focus on coronavirus numbers first and foremost. When the news is good , we tend to see stocks and rates move higher. When the new...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 3:06 PM
Very Uneventful Week in The Bigger Picture
Heading into this week, we were hoping to see some consensus betw...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 11:50 AM
All three measures in the Census Bureaus June residential construction report moved higher , as the building industry continued to recover from its Ap...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 9:12 AM
Want an estimate of how many borrowers might be out there, benefitting from your assistance by you giving them a lower rate (assuming they, and the pr...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:59 AM
One of the market themes that has been most noticeable and most reliable post-covid is that of the "stock lever"--our in-house term for the phenomenon...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:52 AM
The interest rates on mortgage loans that closed in June averaged 3.40 percent, down 3 basis points from the average in May according to Ellie Mae's O...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 8:37 AM
There was another decline in forbearance starts this past week and the number of loans in active plans also fell for the third straight week. Black Kn...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 4:29 PM
The House Financial Service Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on Thursday entitled, "Protecting Homeowners Durin...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 3:59 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower this morning as lenders got caught up with recent improvement in the bond market. The bond market is the primary considerat...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 3:31 PM
The Downside of Ultra Low Rates
Actions and reactions are as true in the bond market as in the natural world...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 10:33 AM
Economists talk about the potential for a V shaped recovery from the pandemic and that is exactly the pattern displayed by the National Association of...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 8:58 AM
I was on the phone yesterday with my psychic who told me, “You will live a long and healthy life if you abstain from anything that brings you joy.” Ok...
Thu, Jul 16 2020, 8:31 AM
It used to be that rate watchers and mortgage originators could simply tune in to the economic data on any given day and expect a fairly logical and...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 3:27 PM
Stocks and Bonds Confirm Hyperfocus on Covid Outlook
Coronavirus has been with us for so long and has caused...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 1:02 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is expecting new home sales to spike again in June, based on results of its Builder Application Survey (BAS). T...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 9:48 AM
I woke up this morning trying to remember if I was working where I am living, or living where I am working. “Personal” and “professional” often overla...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:58 AM
Coronavirus has been with us for so long and has caused such a huge paradigm shift that it's easy to lose sight of its importance as a day-to-day mark...
Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:31 AM
Mortgage application volume increased last week, bouncing back slightly from the prior holiday shortened period. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 4:56 PM
Mortgage rates recovered to some extent today, after moving slightly higher on Friday and yesterday. The bond market (which underlies rate movement) w...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 3:40 PM
The reopening of the economy in several states from the COVID-19 shutdowns has moved Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group to raise...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 3:36 PM
Bonds Surprisingly Resilient After Last Week's Scare
After last week's somewhat scary move higher in rates, ...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 9:23 AM
Here's your life graphically under COVID. Many in our business will argue that homes should not be used as piggy banks, COVID or no COVID. For others ...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 8:49 AM
Once again, stocks and bonds were largely flat in the overnight session and domestic trading begins with both sides of the market close to yesterday's...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 8:22 AM
April's data is here, and CoreLogic is reporting that early stage delinquencies, that is mortgages 30 to 59 days past due, soared to levels even highe...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 3:38 PM
Fundamental Hope But Technical Caution
Fundamentals and technicals represent the two main schools of thought...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 8:59 AM
While in captivity it is important to remember good grooming is important . Good communication is important also. Are salespeople all on the way to ha...
Mon, Jul 13 2020, 8:51 AM
Fundamentals and technicals represent the two main schools of thought when it comes to market analysis. Fundamental analysis focuses on all of thi...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:46 PM
It should no longer come as a surprise that the pandemic continues to create never-before-seen circumstances in all corners of society. Here in the ho...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 4:28 PM
Big Scary Reversal in Bonds (Spoiler Alert: It Wasn't That Scary)
Just as bonds were settling into a nice ne...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:19 AM
Black Knight's weekly report on the numbers of mortgage loans in COVID-19 forbearance plans shows that a decline in those numbers of nearly a half mil...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:07 AM
Bubonic plague in China ? What’s next, frogs falling from the sky? Water turning into blood, darkness for three days? A big bank requiring $1 million ...
Fri, Jul 10 2020, 9:04 AM
Trend channels in financial markets are some of the most basic forms of analysis. They consist of lines drawn along the highs and lows of a charted s...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:25 PM
There are two kinds of headlines about mortgage rates today: those that rely on the weekly survey-based data published each Thursday by Freddie Mac, a...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:23 PM
Credit tightening is becoming more evident according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Its Mortgage Credit Availability Index fell to a readi...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 4:03 PM
Bonds Making a Case For a New Trend
We've talked a lot about the linear uptrend in bond yields that began in...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 10:57 AM
A new survey by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has found that the vast majority of its members feel as though their businesses are back o...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 9:18 AM
We've talked a lot about the massive rift that opened up between mortgage rates and MBS yields as the pandemic hit markets several months ago. MBS yi...
Thu, Jul 9 2020, 9:16 AM
United Airlines may lay off 36,000? Bed, Bath, and Beyond closing 200 stores? Walgreen’s cutting 4,000? Yup. Lower rates won’t save those jobs, but we...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates were unchanged today for the average lender. That means they remain at all-time lows that are even lower than the all-time lows seen du...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 4:07 PM
Bonds Pull Back, But It's Still a Waiting Game
Despite some modest weakness to begin the day, bonds remain s...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 2:22 PM
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) continued to rebound last month from its sharp retreat to near record lows in the Spring. The Index,...
Wed, Jul 8 2020, 10:44 AM
Mortgage application volume bounced back into positive territory last week , even though banks and many businesses were closed on Friday for the Indep...
