Wed, Jul 24 2019, 9:00 AM
Today, in Utah, it is either Pie & Beer Day, or Pioneer Day, I can never remember which. Words are funny things. How about “partners,” as in Amazon’s ...
Wed, Jul 24 2019, 8:07 AM
It was another mediocre week for mortgage applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage ...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 6:10 PM
MBS did a great job of fending off an onslaught of Treasury weakness today. MBS outperformance is a relatively foreign concept of late, but we do t...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 4:09 PM
Mortgage rates side-stepped today, bringing an end to a gentle but consistent move lower over the past 5 business days. During that time the average c...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 11:17 AM
Existing home sales are persistent in their inability to maintain a steady course from month to month. Despite low interest rates and hopes for a stro...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 10:01 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) House Price Index (HPI) fell in line with most other indices in May, showing a slowdown in housing price...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 9:37 AM
The bubble in the mortgage prepayment rate burst in June. Black Knight, in its "first look" at the month's loan performance statistics, said the singl...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 8:57 AM
During my travels someone recently told me that the “x” at the end of Cajun names was attributable to illiterate Cajuns “making their mark.” But inste...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 8:56 AM
In the day just passed, bonds made modest gains at the open only to give most of them up by the close. Activity was concentrated at the specific open...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 8:16 AM
Given its press coverage, one would conclude that financial technology (fintech) has all but taken over residential real estate and its financing. How...
Mon, Jul 22 2019, 3:30 PM
Mortgage rates were lower again today. The improvement was fairly decent given the amount of movement seen in the bond market. The reason for that has...
Mon, Jul 22 2019, 8:54 AM
In the week just passed, bonds set to the task of confirming a ceiling in yields that had been forming at the end of the previous week. The friendly ...
Mon, Jul 22 2019, 8:54 AM
There are more stars in the universe than words ever uttered by all the humans who ever lived. (That’s a good line for tonight’s Happy Hour.) Money, o...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 8:31 PM
If yesterday was marked by rather aggressive comments by Fed's Williams (aggressive enough to convince a few market participants that the Fed might cu...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 8:04 PM
Mortgage rates Moved just slightly lower today, despite some push back from underlying bond markets. Typically, weakness in the bond market (like the ...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 12:12 PM
The so-called GSE Patch for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) 2013 Ability-to-Repay (ATR) and Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule (Rule) is s...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 9:25 AM
In the day just passed, bonds did an admirable job shaking off the ill effects of a significantly stronger Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Business Out...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 9:20 AM
Some people pray for ice cream, and their prayers will be answered as this Sunday is National Ice Cream Day. An MLO prayer? “Dear Lord, just give me o...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 6:13 PM
It was a tale of two market movers today as afternoon Fed comments completely reversed an earlier reaction to super strong economic data. The Philly ...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 5:37 PM
Economic data and mortgage rate movement go hand in hand. A stronger economy puts upward pressure on rates. A contracting economy helps rates move low...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 8:48 AM
In the day just passed, bonds enjoyed one of their best rally days in recent weeks as the stock market endured its 2nd weakest day since May. Stocks ...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 8:46 AM
There’s a lot going on out there! Rocket Mortgage is creating new technology that will allow the State Farm agents to offer a Rocket Mortgage loan as ...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 8:37 AM
Closing rates for mortgage loans were at the highest level in June since Ellie Mae began collecting the data in 2011. The company, in its June Origina...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 8:24 AM
There was a huge decline in foreign investment in U.S. real estate during the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2019. The National Associatio...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 5:27 PM
Mortgage rates improved today, depending on the lender and the time of day! Underlying bond markets were only modestly stronger in the morning. As suc...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 5:26 PM
What began as a rather unassuming summertime Wednesday quickly turned in to one of the biggest rally days in weeks for bonds. 10yr yields moved more ...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 11:25 AM
The residential construction numbers in June were expected to come in largely in the same neighborhood as in May. Analysts however got it only half ri...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 10:04 AM
I encounter plenty of people in the mortgage biz, from part-time receptionists to owners, who are focused on helping consumers. It’s a good thing! And...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 9:23 AM
In the day just passed, a strong Retail Sales report kept the pressure on bond markets to remain in the negative trend that prevailed last week. Yiel...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 8:34 AM
This month marks the tenth anniversary of the current expansion. How much longer can it last? Fannie Mae's July Economics Development report indicates...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 8:16 AM
Mortgage application activity retreated again during the week ended July 12, although refinancing remained strong. The Mortgage Bankers Association (M...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 6:27 PM
Bonds began the day in roughly unchanged territory. On the one hand, that was impressive considering the lack of substance underlying yesterday's ral...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 4:34 PM
Mortgage rates were flat to slightly higher today, following a stronger-than-expected Retail Sales report. The bond market (which dictates mortgage ra...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 11:25 AM
Builder confidence rose slightly in July. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said its Housing Market Index (HMI), which it sponsors with...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 9:01 AM
Although lots of small lenders don’t seem interested in being acquired any longer (“Hey, our pipeline is full and we’re making money again! Autumn is ...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 8:35 AM
In the day just passed, bonds traversed a sleepy summertime Monday trading session without much volume or liquidity. That dynamic was somewhat exacer...
Mon, Jul 15 2019, 4:42 PM
Today was one of those unofficial 3-day weekend type of Mondays with light volume, light trader participation, and "drifty" trading momentum. A marke...
Mon, Jul 15 2019, 4:18 PM
Mortgage rates were mostly flat to begin the new week, even though underlying bond markets were in stronger territory. Bonds, more than anything else,...
Mon, Jul 15 2019, 9:12 AM
In the week just passed, the first 4 days (and especially Tue/Thu) served as the scene for a breakout from the previous trend (seen in the yellow line...
Mon, Jul 15 2019, 8:47 AM
You don’t think your spouse listens to you? What about Google? You bet: “Google Very Angry After Contractor Leaks Over a Thousand Assistant Recordings...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 6:28 PM
Last Friday's jobs report meant business (bad business for low rates). Even though Powell ultimately told us that one jobs report wouldn't fundamen...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 5:56 PM
Mortgage rates moved decisively higher this week as the underlying bond market finally began shifting gears. After the Fed meeting in June, rates move...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 11:28 AM
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a treasure trove of data, its 2018 report on Characteristics of New Housing. The report, based on data collec...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 10:52 AM
Applications for financing new home purchases slipped in June in spite of the continued easing of mortgage interest rates. The Mortgage Bankers Associ...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 9:16 AM
Glenn Freezman sent, “I have a step ladder. I never knew my real ladder.” Toddlers, drunk people, and yoga pants don’t lie. What about statistics? Den...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 9:12 AM
In the day just passed, bonds slipped into a bit of a capitulation sell-off following slightly stronger CPI data and a much weaker 30yr bond auction. ...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 8:21 AM
The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) is the agency, housed under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, that converts g...
Thu, Jul 11 2019, 9:09 AM
In honor of World Population Day today, the Census Bureau tells us that the world’s population will hit 7.58 billion this month. But why believe that?...
Thu, Jul 11 2019, 9:08 AM
In the day just passed, bonds weakened abruptly in the overnight session--mostly due to strong European economic data. Traders were also cautious ahe...
Wed, Jul 10 2019, 3:10 PM
There was a lot that could have gone wrong for the bond market today, given the confluence of big-ticket events (Powell testimony, 10yr auction, Fed m...
