Wed, Apr 10 2019, 4:33 PM
Mortgage rates dropped today. It wasn't a huge move, but they didn't have to go very far to get to the best levels of the month. To be fair, many pros...
Wed, Apr 10 2019, 10:02 AM
Wednesday is off to a good start with friendly inflation data leading things off at 8:30am and an even friendlier press conference from European Centr...
Wed, Apr 10 2019, 8:56 AM
“My 8-year-old daughter can already read at a 5th grade level and ignore me at a 12th grade level.” Talking about young ‘uns, who needs great grades w...
Wed, Apr 10 2019, 8:29 AM
Applications for financing new home purchases were up significantly in March. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that Builder Application ...
Wed, Apr 10 2019, 8:18 AM
The rally in mortgage application volume that sent several of the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's) metrics to recent highs at the end of March f...
Tue, Apr 9 2019, 5:29 PM
Treasuries were stronger today while MBS were mostly weaker. These days can happen, and they're all the more likely when a few key variables are pres...
Tue, Apr 9 2019, 4:45 PM
Mortgage rates were flat-to-slightly-higher yet again today. Whereas that depended on the lender yesterday, today's weakness was more universal. That'...
Tue, Apr 9 2019, 10:53 AM
CoreLogic says mortgage delinquencies in January were the lowest for that month in 20 years . Meanwhile, in a separate report, they note that non-mort...
Tue, Apr 9 2019, 9:20 AM
There are no significant economic reports or scheduled events on the calendar today, unless you count the 3yr Treasury auction at 1pm (and you probabl...
Tue, Apr 9 2019, 8:17 AM
Free ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops today? Count me in! Going back a few days, in Saturday’s commentary I mentioned a company offering blockch...
Mon, Apr 8 2019, 7:37 PM
A few couple of warm days, the appearance of a few tulips, and wham, homebuyer sentiment goes through the roof. At least the results from the March Na...
Mon, Apr 8 2019, 6:33 PM
Back on Thursday afternoon, bonds/rates looked like they were just wrapping up the process of rising into position between the old range and the new r...
Mon, Apr 8 2019, 6:05 PM
Mortgage rates were flat-to-slightly-higher today, depending on the lender and the time of day. Why would the time of day matter? Mortgage rates are b...
Mon, Apr 8 2019, 9:46 AM
At first glance, this week's economic calendar is fairly light, with Wednesday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) being the only upper-tier report in terms ...
Mon, Apr 8 2019, 8:24 AM
The move down in rates has sparked optimism about volume (and perhaps margins) out there. But mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and the details thereof,...
Fri, Apr 5 2019, 5:39 PM
The tale of two ranges continued in grand fashion overnight as 10yr yields made it all the way to the top of the lower, better range seen since the Ma...
Fri, Apr 5 2019, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower today following a mixed report on the US labor market. The once-a-month Employment Situation (the official name for the "jo...
Fri, Apr 5 2019, 9:05 AM
Some New Yorkers like to think that they’re at the Center of the Universe. But, though larger Java, in terms of islands, in Indonesia, is home to 135 ...
Fri, Apr 5 2019, 8:20 AM
Yesterday's bond market volume was as low as it's been since Monday, March 18th. Then, like now, bonds were on the approach to a big potential market...
Thu, Apr 4 2019, 5:27 PM
Bonds were very modestly stronger today, although the more important takeaway is that they effectively held in line with the highest yields of the pas...
Thu, Apr 4 2019, 4:21 PM
Mortgage rates barely budged today after hitting the highest levels in more than a week yesterday. In general, the bond market (which dictates rate mo...
Thu, Apr 4 2019, 10:34 AM
Borrowers had a bit of an easier time getting a loan in March, especially those looking for Jumbo products. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's)...
Thu, Apr 4 2019, 10:04 AM
We've talked a lot about 2.55% in 10yr yields as an important floor for most of Q1 2019. It was broken after the Fed's March 20th announcement. For ...
Thu, Apr 4 2019, 8:56 AM
NASA has taken another step to make interplanetary living a reality, naming the top three finalists for its ongoing 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge . I a...
Wed, Apr 3 2019, 4:34 PM
The title of yesterday's recap was "Don't Call It a Comeback," and today's weakness is why. Well, to be fair, since I'm always the first to tell you ...
Wed, Apr 3 2019, 3:56 PM
Mortgage rates resumed a week-long move higher today, bringing them to the highest levels since March 19th or 20th, depending on the lender. Between n...
Wed, Apr 3 2019, 10:01 AM
With 10yr yields beginning the day well over 2.50% and with 2.55% being the line in the sand marking the breakout from the sideways range at the begin...
Wed, Apr 3 2019, 8:45 AM
Anyone traveling near San Francisco may have seen “The Flintstones House” perched on a hill next to the freeway. Neighbors don’t like it. But I guess ...
Wed, Apr 3 2019, 8:10 AM
Borrowers have apparently been paying attention. The 22-basis point drop in mortgage rates per Freddie Mac, the largest one-week decline in more than ...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 5:08 PM
Bonds made some gains today, much to the relief of anyone who didn't really care to see rates explode higher after hitting long-term lows last week. ...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates spiked quickly yesterday, moving up to the highest levels in more than a week and adding an eighth of a percentage point (.125%) to Fri...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 2:50 PM
CoreLogic says its Home Price Index (HPI) for February reflected an increase of 0.7 percent from January to February and that home prices nationwide w...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 11:25 AM
Last fall the Urban Institute (UI) published a paper asking, "What, if anything, should replace the QM Patch?" Now Laurie Goodman, UI's Vice President...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 10:40 AM
It's no mystery at this point that the US bond market has exited its steep, directional, and super friendly move to long-term lows over the past few d...
Tue, Apr 2 2019, 9:05 AM
“Probability tells you that a toddler has a 50-50 chance of putting their shoes on the correct feet. Parenting tells you otherwise.” Merging or acquir...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 5:45 PM
First thing's first, there's not much about a 10bp gain in 10yr yields and nearly a half a point of MBS weakness that would be considered "mini," but...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 4:53 PM
Mortgage rates spiked quickly today, capping a 3-day run leading back up from the lowest levels in more than a year. Today's move was by far the bigge...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 11:25 AM
Total construction spending rose in February however the increase was almost totally in the publicly funded sector. The Census Bureau said total spend...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 9:41 AM
In terms of directional movement, things have been great for bond markets since early November 2018. Much of that greatness, however, felt more like ...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 9:09 AM
(Yes, here is today’s actual commentary.) It is well known among loan officers that real estate agents don’t know their client’s credit situation befo...
Mon, Apr 1 2019, 8:28 AM
There are two strong headlines in Black Knight's new Mortgage Monitor . One is that the pool of homeowners for whom a refinance makes sense increased ...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 3:54 PM
Bonds began the day in weaker territory, threatening to confirm a 2 day move that ends March's impressive run. Weakness remained intact all day but b...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 3:18 PM
Mortgage rates were higher again today, making this the first confirmed bounce since beginning their stellar run last week. To be clear, rates have be...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 12:59 PM
With the third set of new home sales data in 21 days it seems the Census Bureau has caught up from the partial government shutdown. Whether because of...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 10:36 AM
While the notion that "all good things come to an end" is the subject of philosophical debate, it's a safe bet that all awesome bond rallies will even...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 9:16 AM
Wells Fargo’s continuing saga continues with the resignation of its CEO Tim Sloan over opening accounts without customer’s permission. “Fortunately” t...
Fri, Mar 29 2019, 8:20 AM
As the Senate Banking Committee wound up its second day of hearings on Chairman Mike Crapo's (R-ID) outline for housing finance reform the White House...
Thu, Mar 28 2019, 6:01 PM
It's very easy to fall into the trap of allowing gains or losses to dictate one's market sentiment on any given day. For instance, am I more likely to...
Thu, Mar 28 2019, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher by a measurable amount today--the first time they've done such a thing in nearly a month! Even after the modest increase, ...
Thu, Mar 28 2019, 12:00 PM
Facebook, which has been accused recently of everything short of disappearing Jimmy Hoffa, is in more hot water. The U.S. Department of Housing and Ur...
