Fri, Mar 27 2020, 10:50 AM
I devoted years of my life championing the cause of educating mortgage originators on the realities of MBS price movement. The most compelling call...
Fri, Mar 27 2020, 9:33 AM
While in captivity it is important to have good communication . (Early anecdotal chatter indicates that the remote workforce has signs of improved pro...
Fri, Mar 27 2020, 9:11 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 5.5 percent in February , up from a 4.3 percent ga...
Thu, Mar 26 2020, 5:17 PM
I will do my best to speak to both consumer and mortgage industry people on this topic. It affects everyone. With that in mind, the following is a l...
Thu, Mar 26 2020, 11:13 AM
New home building, which only recently and belatedly caught fire, is already feeling the effect of the COVID-19 virus response. The National Associati...
Thu, Mar 26 2020, 9:08 AM
While in captivity it is important to keep busy . Every day people ask me where I think rates will be next week. Here you go: my forecast ! After you ...
Wed, Mar 25 2020, 6:42 PM
Depending on what you're looking at, when you look, and where you look, mortgage rates could either be amazing or terrible. Large, upstanding, secure,...
Wed, Mar 25 2020, 9:56 AM
The pace of annual price increases ticked slightly higher in January according to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). The i...
Wed, Mar 25 2020, 9:26 AM
It's no secret that volatility has been a big deal in the bond market (and most other markets) recently. But there's no comparing the drama seen in T...
Wed, Mar 25 2020, 9:03 AM
While in captivity it is important to have a hobby . “Dad, why is my sister named Paris?” “Well, uh, that’s because we were in Paris when she was conc...
Wed, Mar 25 2020, 8:15 AM
The volume of mortgage applications plummeted last week as households, rattled by COVID-19 fears, self-isolated in their homes and businesses were shu...
Tue, Mar 24 2020, 6:36 PM
There is a LOT of misinformation flying around out there about the mortgage market, the Fed, and the various impacts on rates from the government's co...
Tue, Mar 24 2020, 11:49 AM
This page is now your official resource for the week when it comes to ANY AND ALL questions pertaining to what the Fed is doing in the mortgage market...
Tue, Mar 24 2020, 10:36 AM
Sales of newly constructed home jumped to a 13-year high of 764,000 annualized units in January , a number that was revised even higher today to 800,0...
Tue, Mar 24 2020, 9:49 AM
Hit the comment section if we're missing anything and we'll get it updated to keep this as an up-to-date list of COVID-related changes to underwriting...
Tue, Mar 24 2020, 9:04 AM
While in captivity it is important to have discipline . Independent mortgage banks exercised discipline and had a great 4 th quarter, profit-wise , bu...
Mon, Mar 23 2020, 1:36 PM
Fannie Mae has issued a series of three lender letters dealing with changes in appraisals, originations, and servicing protocols in response to the CO...
Mon, Mar 23 2020, 11:36 AM
Over the weekend the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sent letter to two federal financial officials asking for immediate action to counter potentia...
Mon, Mar 23 2020, 9:52 AM
There was a time when several billion dollars a day of Fed MBS purchases was considered a lot. Then the Fed's coronavirus response happened.
The Fe...
Mon, Mar 23 2020, 9:19 AM
While in captivity it is important to have a goal . And remember, “It's only quarantine if it comes from the quarantine region of France; otherwise, i...
Mon, Mar 23 2020, 8:45 AM
Loan performance overall continues to validate the perceived quality of recent loan vintages and delinquency metrics continue to test and break old re...
Fri, Mar 20 2020, 11:45 AM
Who knows what tomorrow will bring? At least for today we have some welcome good news from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Existing home ...
Fri, Mar 20 2020, 9:00 AM
Today, with the official start of Spring, and while the industry waits for the FHFA to answer concerns about appraisals, VVOEs, and other issues, ther...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 5:42 PM
Today was the most volatile day in the history of the mortgage market in many regards. There were days in the early 80's that saw rates move by simila...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 2:13 PM
A 10-basis point drop in the average interest rate of closed loans drove up the share of refinances in February. Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Repor...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 10:41 AM
Freddie Mac is invoking the same types of measures to protect homeowners in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic as it has previously taken in other natu...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 9:13 AM
“I’ve started investing in stocks: beef, chicken, and vegetable. One day I hope to be a bouillonaire.” There might be a few less “bouilonaires” owning...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 8:17 AM
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil investigation into FICO Corporation. DOJ is apparently looking into claims that the company ...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 8:10 AM
As anticipated, the two major data sets in February's residential construction report declined from their January level but both construction permitti...
Wed, Mar 18 2020, 10:47 AM
Everyone has a lot to digest right now. The average human on planet earth is no different from the entire financial market in that regard. We're und...
Wed, Mar 18 2020, 9:14 AM
Thank you to Susan M. for, “Your Grandparents were called to war. You’re being called to sit on a couch. You can do this!” I was speaking with an acqu...
Wed, Mar 18 2020, 8:42 AM
New home sales in February are expected to be down from January's levels based on loan application volume data reported by the Mortgage Bankers Associ...
Wed, Mar 18 2020, 8:27 AM
Builder confidence slipped slightly in March according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), but there was one huge caveat. The monthly...
Wed, Mar 18 2020, 8:16 AM
After last week's report on a record-busting week for mortgage applications, with applications for refinancing surging 79 percent and mortgage volume ...
Tue, Mar 17 2020, 9:57 AM
There is some interesting stuff going on with global bond markets. Even as COVID ravages Europe, benchmark yields (German 10yr) are soaring relative ...
Tue, Mar 17 2020, 9:41 AM
“I’ve washed my hands so many times now I can see the answers to a math test I took in 1978!” We’re going through a test of the financial system . I l...
Mon, Mar 16 2020, 5:40 PM
Lots of words recently and lots to do for all of us, so let's make this simple. No, you can't get a that new 0% mortgage rate you heard about! It does...
Mon, Mar 16 2020, 9:44 AM
If you haven't seen the details of the over-the-weekend emergency Fed announcement, read this: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage_rates/blog/93...
Mon, Mar 16 2020, 9:03 AM
Gosh, what should we talk about today? If there’s a “winner” with the coronavirus, it is dogs. They are experiencing unprecedented levels of people be...
Sun, Mar 15 2020, 5:45 PM
There are a lot of words here. If you have a mortgage you might ever refinance (and especially if you think Sunday's emergency Fed news means you can ...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 3:31 PM
Fannie Mae's forecasts for the rest of 2020 took a bit of a hit from the pandemic panic. The company's Economic Developments report for March contains...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 1:01 PM
Let's clear a few things up.
The Fed was already buying $60bln / month of bonds. Yesterday's announcement meant that the composition of those bond...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 10:22 AM
With the caveat that its Lender Sentiment Survey was conducted in February when the world was a very different place , Fannie Mae says mortgage lender...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 9:54 AM
Homeowner equity jumped again in the fourth quarter of last year. CoreLogic's report said it found that, among homeowners with mortgages, about 63 per...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 9:49 AM
Home sellers and potential buyers appear to be having a variety of reactions to the turmoil surrounding the COVID-19 virus with some even viewing it a...
Fri, Mar 13 2020, 8:44 AM
Here’s an economic tidbit for you. The Port of Los Angeles is reporting a 22.9% decrease in cargo volumes for February compared to 2019, with expectat...
Thu, Mar 12 2020, 9:16 PM
In all my years of following mortgage rates I haven't seen anything quite like the current environment. 2008 came fairly close, but the vibe was decid...
Thu, Mar 12 2020, 10:18 AM
Another day, another false start confirmed for the stock market. More specifically, the modest bounce in stocks that was intact on Tuesday afternoon ...
Thu, Mar 12 2020, 9:07 AM
Here’s a sign of the times. “Rob, I would think many lenders are for sale; they just don't know it yet. EPOs, servicing write-downs, renegotiations, m...
Wed, Mar 11 2020, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates continued a relentless surge higher today. The move began in earnest yesterday for two key reasons: bond market panic and mortgage mark...
