Thu, May 30 2024, 11:53 AM
Hey, there is plenty of competition among lenders and among vendors. But, to the best of my knowledge, vendors and lenders aren’t doing this to one an...
Wed, May 29 2024, 4:02 PM
Concocting a Narrative to Fit The Market Movement
There are certain days and even weeks where the bond marke...
Wed, May 29 2024, 3:33 PM
Mortgage rates most recently bottomed out on May 15th with the average top tier conventional 30yr fixed scenario being quoted just a hair under 7.0%. ...
Wed, May 29 2024, 11:49 AM
“I just saw three people jogging outside, and it inspired me to… get up and close the blinds.” Are you inspired to fly somewhere on vacation this summ...
Wed, May 29 2024, 11:36 AM
While US bonds were busy holding inside a narrow sideways range through the end of last week, pressure was building in the European bond market. When...
Wed, May 29 2024, 8:07 AM
Higher interest rates helped to wipe out three weeks of gains in mortgage application activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market...
Tue, May 28 2024, 3:49 PM
Relatively Sharp Losses, but Nothing Special in The Bigger Picture
Bonds began the day modestly stronger, an...
Tue, May 28 2024, 3:40 PM
It was a mini rollercoaster of a day for mortgage rates with the average lender starting the day at lower levels than Friday only to end at the highes...
Tue, May 28 2024, 11:54 AM
Last week was notable for its absence of any notable developments--an outcome we considered to be the "guilty until proven innocent" baseline and the ...
Tue, May 28 2024, 11:51 AM
“Scientists got together to study the effects of alcohol on a person’s walk, and the result was staggering.” The news impacting human life and propert...
Fri, May 24 2024, 2:57 PM
The 11-Day Weekend is Now Official
If there was one objective hurdle to clear in order to consider the prese...
Fri, May 24 2024, 2:43 PM
It was largely a dull week for financial markets in terms of scheduled data and volatility, but numerous Fed speeches helped reiterate what the market...
Fri, May 24 2024, 11:57 AM
"Abandon all hope ye who enter here." (Dante’s words, not Disney’s.) That could be the slogan of Times Square, but for those who just spent days at th...
Fri, May 24 2024, 8:57 AM
If there were any remaining doubts regarding the relevance of Durable Goods as a big ticket market mover, they are put to rest by the absence of a dis...
Thu, May 23 2024, 4:17 PM
Surprisingly Strong Surge in Services PMI Tests The Range
Perhaps fate was tempted by our persistent focus o...
Thu, May 23 2024, 3:45 PM
For the most part, the current week is sorely lacking in the sort of scheduled economic data and events that typically contribute to exciting movement...
Thu, May 23 2024, 11:45 AM
Some people say, “You’re crazy to stay in residential lending in this environment, and it’s not going to improve dramatically in the near future.” No,...
Thu, May 23 2024, 9:02 AM
It's day 6 of the increasingly famous 11-day weekend (1 normal weekend plus the 3 day Memorial Day weekend and the 5 days in between without any big t...
Wed, May 22 2024, 4:58 PM
No Major Reaction to Fed Minutes
Today's only event that has any precedent of inspiring rate volatility was ...
Wed, May 22 2024, 4:28 PM
It was another slow day for the mortgage market and one that joins a list of several other relatively inconsequential days in the past few weeks. Thi...
Wed, May 22 2024, 3:17 PM
The inventory of existing homes for sale increased from March to April, but the increased availability didn’t bolster sales. The National Association ...
Wed, May 22 2024, 11:46 AM
As many from the conference fly home, there was a lot of information flying around the conference this week. (Check out the climate and catastrophe no...
Wed, May 22 2024, 10:37 AM
It's unclear if the industry can recover from what is surely one of the most troubling rate spikes in modern economic history. Invoking one of the mos...
Wed, May 22 2024, 8:54 AM
Interest rates hit a seven-week low last week, boosting the level of refinancing applications for the third straight week, but those for home purchase...
Tue, May 21 2024, 3:52 PM
No Fireworks Expected From Fed Minutes
Day 4 of the 11 day weekend is in the books and the bond market did e...
Tue, May 21 2024, 3:38 PM
Referring to the past 3 business days as a "losing streak" for mortgage rates may be a bit harsh. During that time, the average top tier 30yr fixed r...
Tue, May 21 2024, 10:50 AM
Ever since the inflation data in Q1 proved to be less rate-friendly than we might have hoped, the Fed has been exactly as unfriendly as we might have ...
Mon, May 20 2024, 3:33 PM
Mostly Flat After Initial Weakness
There's a risk that a theme will emerge in the coming days, but a theme t...
Mon, May 20 2024, 3:22 PM
Mortgage rates moved modestly higher on the two days at the end of last week. This put an end to a decent winning streak that had been in place since...
Mon, May 20 2024, 11:35 AM
Greetings from the Arch MI meeting room space! Heard in the hallways here at the MBA’s Secondary conference in Manhattan: “Our loan officers are telli...
Mon, May 20 2024, 11:16 AM
It's not too common to refer to a week with Fed meeting minutes as "super slow," but at the risk of complacency, how could the Fed possibly share any ...
Fri, May 17 2024, 3:31 PM
Moderate, Inconsequential Weakness
Bonds lost ground at a modest to moderate clip on Friday, but not for any...
Fri, May 17 2024, 3:11 PM
Mortgage rates have had a great month of May so far with almost every day being a winner up until yesterday and today. Even then, the 2 day losing st...
Fri, May 17 2024, 12:02 PM
We’re only a few days away from the MBA’s Capital Markets Conference. Attendees, don’t forget to pick up your badges, or else! (Speaking of interestin...
Fri, May 17 2024, 11:12 AM
Friday's only scheduled economic report is the Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) index. It is not considered a timely market mover...
Thu, May 16 2024, 5:00 PM
Gradual Weakness All Day And a Quieter Calendar Ahead
Today brought the last of the scheduled economic data ...
Thu, May 16 2024, 4:18 PM
On the average day in the mortgage market, the average lender will offer the same mortgage rate terms for the entire day. It's only when the underlyi...
Thu, May 16 2024, 2:55 PM
The latest data on new residential construction from the U.S. Census Bureau paints a somewhat mixed picture of the housing market. While housing compl...
Thu, May 16 2024, 12:02 PM
It's the day after the CPI data and thus begins a concerted effort over the next few weeks to avoid compiling every piece of commentary as a simple co...
Thu, May 16 2024, 11:47 AM
Attendees of next week’s MBA Secondary conference can look forward to… A giant hot dog in Times Square that spits out confetti at high noon. (Keep you...
Wed, May 15 2024, 3:04 PM
Like The Last CPI Never Even Happened
The much anticipated CPI data was perfectly in line with expectations ...
Wed, May 15 2024, 2:28 PM
If it feels like we've been harping on the prospects for rate volatility in response to today's inflation data for several weeks (and we have), today ...
Wed, May 15 2024, 1:54 PM
Builders’ confidence in the new home market retreated this month , the first decline since last November. The National Association of Home Builders (N...
Wed, May 15 2024, 11:37 AM
Misconceptions and misunderstandings… Capital markets folks at the MBA conference next week should know that The Naked Cowboy in Times Square is not r...
Wed, May 15 2024, 10:29 AM
First off: the bond market rallied after the CPI data came out and remains in much stronger territory vs yesterday. That said, the more context we ad...
Wed, May 15 2024, 8:21 AM
Lower interest rates gave a lift to refinancing activity for the second week but failed to do the same for those financing home purchases. The Mortgag...
Tue, May 14 2024, 4:45 PM
Bonds Ready to go Big in Either Direction
If you only had 1 day per month to allocate to watching the bond m...
Tue, May 14 2024, 4:31 PM
We've been waiting for tomorrow since April 10th. That's the last time the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released. This is one of the two official ...
Tue, May 14 2024, 11:50 AM
Attendees are gearing up for the upcoming MBA Secondary Conference in Manhattan. Basketball fans know it as the home of Madison Square Garden and are ...
Tue, May 14 2024, 9:04 AM
The Producer Price Index (PPI) isn't in the same league as CPI when it comes to market movement potential, but as seen again this morning, it's no slo...
