Fri, Dec 1 2017, 9:21 AM
December already? There are all kinds of scurrilous M&A rumors out there, or of rumors about companies going belly up, and will continue to be. And ha...
Fri, Dec 1 2017, 9:20 AM
The extent to which the tax bill is "inevitable" remains to be seen, but at the moment, financial markets are still treating it as "highly likely"--ju...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 4:55 PM
As discussed in detail in the daily video on MBS Live, today's bond market weakness was multifaceted , to say the least. But if we want to make the ...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 4:12 PM
There are several news stories out today that reference LOWER rates this week. These all rely on stale survey data that failed to account for changes ...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 12:29 PM
Mortgage bank profits declined in the third quarter of 2017 when compared to the second quarter, but remained substantially higher than in the two rat...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 9:57 AM
The issue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their about-to-be-zero capital buffers has fallen off the radar in recent months, but apparently there is ...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 9:40 AM
Bonds are beginning the day in roughly unchanged territory, but that's not a good thing as far as the bigger picture is concerned. "Unchanged territo...
Thu, Nov 30 2017, 9:18 AM
In non-residential news, just because people have to eat doesn’t mean every grocery store chain thrives. There is chatter out there in the commercial ...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 6:39 PM
Bond markets began domestic hours only slightly weaker, but that didn't last. Milliseconds into the 8am hour, we saw stronger inflation data in Europ...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 3:14 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today, with most lenders quoting their highest rates in at least 2 weeks. But before you let that worry you too much, know...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 10:19 AM
Pending home sales posted their first strong showing in three months in October, beating even the most optimistic of predictions. The National Associa...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 9:26 AM
Lenders everywhere are facing a basic dilemma: Diminished volumes and leaving profit margins alone, or reducing profit margins and trying to maintain ...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 9:11 AM
Right at the start of trading today, bonds took a hit from Fed comments. Although she's soon to be replaced, Janet Yellen's thoughts on the economy...
Wed, Nov 29 2017, 8:45 AM
The short business week preceding the Thanksgiving holiday resulted, as usual, in fewer mortgage applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association said i...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 5:04 PM
Stocks broke out in a big way today--a fact that may make the relatively 'unchanged' bond market performance more palatable. In bonds' defense, they ...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 4:47 PM
Mortgage rates improved modestly today as markets digested tax bill headlines and the confirmation hearing for new Fed Chair Jerome Powell. As the hea...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 2:35 PM
Loan limits were frozen in place at $417,000 for 10 long years after the housing bust, but were finally raised on January 1 of this year. Rapidly incr...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 10:35 AM
In October, David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said home price increases "appear unstoppab...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 9:28 AM
Not much will be able to change about the recent analysis until markets actually make a move. In a nutshell, the recent analysis holds that we've bee...
Tue, Nov 28 2017, 9:11 AM
Remember when everyone waited with bated breath for Fannie & Freddie’s loan limit announcement? (It happens every year around Thanksgiving, in recent ...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 5:17 PM
Black Knight Financial Services reported on Monday that home prices as measured by its national Home Price Index (HPI) continued to slow on a monthly ...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 5:16 PM
The bond market theme heading into the Thanksgiving break was "waiting for a breakout."
The bond market theme heading out of Thanksgiving break ...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 4:58 PM
Mortgage rates were almost perfectly unchanged today as markets returned to full force following the extended Thanksgiving break. Bond markets (which ...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 10:49 AM
It wasn't supposed to happen after the banner month for new home sales in September, but sales of those homes rose significantly again in October, jum...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:41 AM
Over the past two months, we've seen higher lows and lower highs in 10yr yields and mortgage rates. On a chart, this looks like 2 sides of a "triangl...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:16 AM
It should be an interesting day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In fact, the Federal Reserve, which is charged with funding the ag...
Mon, Nov 27 2017, 9:10 AM
The darkest, blackest material known to man? Vantablack . Don't be the last to paint your car with it. Speaking of looking into voids, who is in charg...
Fri, Nov 24 2017, 1:53 PM
Mortgage rates were roughly unchanged today. That's not too surprising considering lenders don't tend to make big moves on the Friday after Thanksgivi...
Fri, Nov 24 2017, 9:13 AM
Plenty of lawyers are basketball fans. What had once looked like a defense slam-dunk now isn’t: A federal judge declined to dismiss a fan’s suit that ...
Fri, Nov 24 2017, 7:38 AM
Today is boring . It was destined to be boring (probably) before it even occurred, and even if it gives the appearance of being exciting at some poi...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 4:38 PM
We've discussed the tenor of Thanksgiving week in bond markets being more to do with serendipity than traditional "cause and effect" relationships. T...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 2:55 PM
Mortgage rates fell modestly today, with bond market strength both before and after the release of the Fed Minutes (a more detailed account of the Fed...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 11:42 AM
As predicted, mortgage delinquencies resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma continued to play out in October. Black Knight Financial Services, in i...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 8:59 AM
The lending world has plenty of truly very busy people. (Or maybe that is what they tell their bosses.) How best to communicate with them? Here’s an a...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 8:47 AM
This month's half-hearted rally in refinancing didn't last long . During the week that ended November 10, applications for refinancing made up more th...
Wed, Nov 22 2017, 8:34 AM
To be sure, market participants have one foot out the door today--either mentally, physically, or both. This has already been made quite clear in the...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 5:18 PM
So far this week, both of the trading days have done everything in their powe r to be as meaningless as possible. There have been no major attempts ...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 3:34 PM
Mortgage rates were unchanged today, on average, although a few lenders made small adjustments to rates sheets in response to bond market volatility. ...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 11:00 AM
Existing home sales continued a gradual recovery in October after a summer of sliding sales. For the second straight month the National Association of...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 9:40 AM
Freddie Mac's Economic and Strategic Research Team gave its forecast for housing in 2018 (which, as discussed below, it is now hedging a bit) in its O...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 9:19 AM
What is more relaxing than breakfast in bed? IHOP is there for you, and is testing IHOP home delivery in various states. Roshambo to see who answers t...
Tue, Nov 21 2017, 9:12 AM
It's no great mystery that momentum in bond markets (at least in 10yr Treasury yields and MBS) is sharply sideways at the moment--not only in terms ...
Mon, Nov 20 2017, 4:59 PM
Looked at under a microscope, there was a fair amount of intraday volatility this morning. Treasury yields fell overnight, reaching the best levels...
Mon, Nov 20 2017, 2:46 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly higher today against the backdrop of the unique bond market conditions seen on Thanksgiving week. Bond markets underlie ...
Mon, Nov 20 2017, 9:42 AM
Compared to stocks, bond markets tend to be more affected by changes in market participation surrounding holidays and other sources of illiquidity. L...
Mon, Nov 20 2017, 9:28 AM
Mortgage delinquencies surged higher in the third quarter of 2017. Most of the increase came in the early stages of non-performance, and much of it ap...
Mon, Nov 20 2017, 9:14 AM
Thanksgiving week already! Let’s temporarily shift from residential lending to economics. According to the SalaryforPilot website, Air Force pilots ea...
Fri, Nov 17 2017, 5:29 PM
Housing activity in the third quarter of 2017 is described as "continuing its rough patch" in Fannie Mae's latest edition of Economic Developments . T...
Fri, Nov 17 2017, 5:28 PM
With today's modest gains, bond markets did exactly what they need to in order to keep the medium term momentum technicals perfectly flat (that flat...
Fri, Nov 17 2017, 4:53 PM
Mortgage rates barely budged today--not too surprising considering today's bond market levels (which underlie rates) were roughly in line with yesterd...
