Fri, Jul 5 2019, 5:11 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today following higher-than-expected job creation in a report from the Labor Department. The Employment Situation (aka "th...
Fri, Jul 5 2019, 9:47 AM
The IRS has only been with us since 1862, modern nationwide income tax since 1913. But, just like the gfee income “share” with Freddie and Fannie, and...
Fri, Jul 5 2019, 8:31 AM
On Wednesday, bond markets digested two of the week's most important economic reports in the from of ADP employment and ISM non-manufacturing. Appoin...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 2:19 PM
Mortgage rates fell at a moderate pace today. As expected, the lenders who hadn't gotten around to improving during yesterday's bond market rally (str...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 12:02 PM
Seven or eight years ago the home sales headline was the entry of big institutional investors into the single-family market. These investors, many of ...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 9:05 AM
I was in Park City, Utah recently, and the real estate agents gave me an interesting statistic: it is believed that 80% of the land and buildings are ...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 8:16 AM
Mortgage application activity during the week ended June 28 was largely unchanged from the week that preceded it. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MB...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 8:15 AM
In the day just past, the bond market finally made its first move outside of the recent consolidation range--a series of lower highs and higher lows t...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 4:55 PM
In the amusement park that is financial markets, each asset class has a few favorite rides. When the place is packed, it's tough for any given asset ...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 3:33 PM
Mortgage rates moved down today by varying amounts depending on the lender. In some cases, lenders weren't offering much of an improvement over yester...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 11:26 AM
The shrinking rate of home price increases that has headlined the price data from most sources for months may have ended, at least according to CoreLo...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 10:10 AM
This weekend I helped my son change apartments in San Francisco, and all over were billboards for ZeroDown.com : “Smartest Way to Buy a Home.” And if ...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 9:41 AM
In the day just past, bonds did an admirable job of fending off the implications of the weekend's G20 news (US/China reopening trade talks, etc). Whi...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 6:07 PM
There was certainly some risk of volatility associated with the G20 summit over the weekend, even if no one expected it to produce any fundamental cha...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 5:30 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly higher to start the new week, which is a pretty good outcome considering the underlying events. On Friday, we anticipated...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 11:59 AM
Construction spending in May, dipping 0.8 percent compared to April's seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.304 trillion to $1.294 trillion. On an ann...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 9:37 AM
In the week just past, bonds avoided a negative correction following the previous week's Fed-induced rally. There was plenty of back and forth, but i...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 9:24 AM
May mortgage performance data indicates that the mortgage finance industry might consider shifting priorities for a while. Black Knight, in the curren...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 9:12 AM
Huh? We’re in the 3rd quarter of 2019 already? To where did the first six months fly off? I am hearing from some lenders that solid April, May, and Ju...
Fri, Jun 28 2019, 3:01 PM
Bonds were perfectly unchanged to start the day after the smallest amount of overnight movement we've seen all week. This is a palpable reminder th...
Fri, Jun 28 2019, 12:59 PM
Mortgage rates enjoyed a pleasantly flat week despite some volatility in the underlying bond market. The day-to-day changes in Treasuries and Mortgage...
Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:09 AM
VA lenders are talking about the “cap” being removed as the Department of Veterans Affairs can now back loans that exceed the conforming loan limit. P...
Fri, Jun 28 2019, 8:34 AM
In the day just past, both stocks and bonds showed a greater predisposition to react to trade-related headlines (more so in stocks, but noticeable in ...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 5:33 PM
Stop me if you've heard this one before: bonds have been trading in a mostly sideways, consolidative range ahead of what should prove to be key events...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:19 PM
Mortgage rates rose to the week's highest levels yesterday, but they moved back down today . Although there have been slightly better days over the pa...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 3:46 PM
A household's decision between buying a home and renting one is being increasingly determined by its student loan debt and childcare cost burdens acco...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 10:22 AM
Pending home sales got back on track in May , increasing by 1.1 percent after a 1.5 percent setback in April. The National Association of Realtors® (N...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 9:32 AM
Did you know that in 2018 the U.S. birth rate dropped for the fourth consecutive year? In fact the number of people born in the United States last yea...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 8:43 AM
In the day just past, bond markets weakened at a reasonably quick pace. The initial motivation was a headline regarding the prospects of a US/China t...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 5:22 PM
Things have been bright and sunny for the bond market without any troubling exceptions since mid-April. During that time we've only seen 10yr yields ...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 4:46 PM
Mortgage rates hadn't moved much since last Friday--a good thing considering those levels were in line with the lowest levels in a long time. The grou...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:59 AM
In the day just past, bonds extended the gains seen on Monday with 10yr yields hitting 1.98% before encountering resistance. The gains are most readi...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:44 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 7.5 percent in May , increasing from 6.2 percent t...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:35 AM
When I grow up, I want to own… 16,000 single family homes? Yes, here’s an article about how artificial intelligence has helped a landlord, and fund, a...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:08 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, managed a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percen...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 5:38 PM
Bonds were roughly unchanged overnight but soon began to improve at the CME and NYSE opening bells. Weak economic data at 10am didn't hurt the rally,...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 5:11 PM
Mortgage rates were little-changed again today, despite moderate improvement in the broader bond market. Although it's MBS (the mortgage-backed securi...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 10:51 AM
It was another disappointing month for new home sales , but due entirely to a sharp decline in those sales in the West. The U.S. Census Bureau and the...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 10:48 AM
The two sets of price indices released on Tuesday diverged again. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices continue to show declining appreciation while...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 9:25 AM
In the day just past, bonds returned from the weekend with an unexpected fervor--at least in terms of outright improvement in yields. Looking beneath...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 9:08 AM
Guys with an eyepatch and three fingers sell the best fireworks. Who does the best job selling mortgage products to consumers? Regulators, Agencies, a...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 8:21 AM
The annual State of the Nation's Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University is the latest vehicle for sound...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 4:59 PM
Friday was tense for the bond market, with selling pressure that was just big enough to cause concern about a bigger correction, and buying support ...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates were generally flat today, depending on the lender. Some were noticeably better while others were a hair worse. In both cases, rates ar...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 11:27 AM
Mortgage prepayment rates have continued to rise as interest rates move lower. Black Knight says prepayments increased by 24.31 percent in May compare...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 9:32 AM
I start the last week of June in Park City, Utah at a STRATMOR meeting and with a correction. In discussing tax laws in Saturday’s commentary I wrote,...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 9:19 AM
In the week just past, bonds were preoccupied with central bank communications. Wednesday's Fed announcement was going to be the only game in town, b...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 6:46 PM
Mortgage rates have had an impressive run --the best since 2011, in fact, when it comes to total peak to trough movement. That winning streak might no...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 6:46 PM
The bond market took an entire day to reiterate what it told us yesterday afternoon. Simply put: it's not interested in rallying much more than it al...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 12:59 PM
After the housing crisis and faced with a flood of insurance claims, FHA and the Department of Justice responded with enforcement efforts against lend...
