Fri, Sep 20 2019, 10:14 AM
In the day just passed, bonds trading was exceptionally calm in the wake of Wednesday's Fed day. As I mentioned in the recap, it was one of the least...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 8:36 AM
A mile is 5,280 feet. And Central Park Tower on West 57th St. in Manhattan now stands at 1,550 feet, about a third of a mile. I mention this because i...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 8:24 AM
Thirty-year mortgage loans closed in August carried an average interest rate of 4.07 percent according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report. Rate...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 5:45 PM
Relative to the expectation for yesterday's Fed events to cause volatility, the movement we've seen in the bond market has been fairly pitiful in re...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 4:23 PM
Here is exactly what yesterday's Fed rate cut did to mortgage rates: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! No Fed rate cut (or hike) will EVER do ANYTHING directly to m...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 11:17 AM
While the increase wasn't as strong as in July, last month's existing home sales posted a second straight month of gains and, as previously, the Natio...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 9:16 AM
In the day just passed, the bond market finally got a chance to sink its teeth into the much-anticipated Fed announcement/forecasts/press conference. ...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 8:52 AM
The residential lending industry continues to evolve. Lenders are coming and going, moving in and out of business channels. (The latest example being ...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 8:38 AM
Fannie Mae says consumer spending will continue to support the economy. The company's Economic Summary for September cites increases in auto and retai...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 5:49 PM
As far as Fed days go--especially the kind where we get updated economic projections--today's example was pretty damn uneventful. These things happen...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 4:54 PM
One of the greatest potential sources of confusion for prospective mortgage borrowers is the relationship between the Fed and mortgage rates. While th...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 2:02 PM
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June July indicates that the labor market remains strong and that economic acti...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 10:23 AM
August turns out to have been among the year's strongest periods for residential construction. While analysts had expected builders to shake off some ...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 9:09 AM
In the day just passed, the bond market managed to add a 2nd day to a friendly correction--a small counterattack against the much larger corrective se...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 8:25 AM
This morning I find myself in Pittsburgh, PA for the MBA of Southwest Pennsylvania . (Yes, I am bound for lunch at Primanti Brothers.) It turns out th...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 8:10 AM
There was a jump in purchase mortgage applications during the week ended September 14 even as interest rates moved higher. The Mortgage Bankers Associ...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 6:24 PM
Today saw the narrowest trading range of any day so far this month and by far the calmest day since the big September selling spree began. Drama came...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 5:02 PM
Mortgage rates have risen rather abruptly from their long term lows 2 weeks ago and are now at the highest levels in more than a month. Fortunately, t...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 11:20 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is anticipating an increase in new home sales in August. The organization's Builder Application Survey found th...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 10:41 AM
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) increased 1 point in September. Along with an upward revision ...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 9:27 AM
In the day just passed, bonds saw their first reprieve from the fairly brutal correction that has defined essentially all of September. 10yr yields d...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 8:53 AM
As yet another example of a mortgage conference eating into a weekend, leading attendees to travel on a Friday or Saturday, the Mortgage Bankers Assoc...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 5:26 PM
Today's key development was over-the-weekend news of drone strikes on Saudi oil assets. Iran is getting the blame, but Trump says he's not in a rush ...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 4:48 PM
Mortgage rates closed out their worst week since 2016 on Friday as the bond market underwent a classic correction after its best month since 2011. The...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 9:55 AM
In the week just passed, the bond market sold off at the fastest pace since the June 2013 taper tantrum. That's a relatively impressive feat at first...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 9:05 AM
Music fans are saddened by the recent news of the deaths of Eddie Money and the Cars’ Rick Ocasek. In our industry, the news late last week that Black...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 3:17 PM
Mortgage rates were already having their worst week since 2016 as of yesterday afternoon. Rather than help to heal some of the damage, today's bond ma...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 10:08 AM
The California Building Industry Association (CBIA) is calling the Trump Administration tariffs the "perfect storm" for the state's already troubled h...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 8:49 AM
Any month that starts on a Sunday contains a Friday the 13th. The superstitious sufferers of “triskaidekaphobia” try to avoid bad luck by keeping away...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 8:36 AM
In the day just passed, bonds got our hopes up early with an initially positive reaction to the ECB announcement. We were even in the green for most ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 6:18 PM
10yr yields hit 1.80% today. Using the power of the MBS Live search feature, I compiled the following list to put 1.80% in context:
"I'd be looking...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 5:21 PM
Mortgage rates didn't have a great day today, moving even higher from what were already the worst levels in a month as of yesterday afternoon. In and ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 11:35 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) suffered its largest decline in eight months in August. The ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 9:25 AM
In the day just passed, the recent bond market selling-spree showed its first serious signs of leveling off since it began one week ago. This wasn't ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 9:02 AM
I apologize in advance for the length of today’s commentary, but there’s a lot going on! Ask any economist if rent control works, and they’ll say, “No...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 8:18 AM
Mortgage application fraud declined in the second quarter of this year. CoreLogic's report on the incidence says that one out of every 123 mortgage ap...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 5:30 PM
Bond traders took a break from their newfound hobby of the past 5 business days: relentlessly selling bonds . Maybe they want to branch out and try ...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 5:04 PM
Mortgage rates were roughly unchanged today for the average lender as underlying bond markets finally calmed down. Over the past few days, bond yields...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 10:35 AM
Mortgage lenders reflected a lot of optimism about their business prospects in the third quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey conducted by Fannie ...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 9:50 AM
In the day just passed, bonds kicked into higher gear with respect to the correction that began to materialize last Thursday. If you feel like you mi...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 8:51 AM
Is our housing system a dumpster fire ?” (I don’t think so; we have hundreds of thousands helping millions every year although F&F would be better off...
Wed, Sep 11 2019, 8:15 AM
Although the week ended September 7 was shortened by the Labor Day holiday, mortgage application volume managed an increase. It was the first week-ove...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 6:14 PM
Bonds continued to sell-off again today--this time slightly more aggressively than yesterday. Yes, the current spike in yields/rates is frustrating, ...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 5:38 PM
Mortgage rates and the broader bond market are both in the midst of a correction after hitting the best levels in more than 3 years last week. This is...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 11:36 AM
While it doesn't appear to be of "canary in the coalmine" magnitude, CoreLogic notes that there were annual increases in the delinquency rates of eigh...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 9:16 AM
In the day just passed, bonds began the week with a resolute sell-off that broke through an important overhead ceiling in 10yr yields (1.62). Weaknes...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 8:42 AM
The gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen. Though the wealth of U.S. households has eclipsed $100 trillion, the wealthy have primaril...
Tue, Sep 10 2019, 8:18 AM
Funny what several dozen downticks in interest rates will do consumers' perceptions of the mortgage market. Fannie Mae said today that its Home Purcha...
Mon, Sep 9 2019, 6:26 PM
Bonds were weaker overnight, weaker during the AM hours, and just for good measure, weaker again in the afternoon. When the dust cleared, 10yr yields...
Mon, Sep 9 2019, 5:25 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today at the fastest pace in several months today. The underlying bond market (which dictates rates) was merely hinting at...
