Tue, Apr 24 2018, 9:12 AM
Where should a lender reduce expenses? I received this note from STRATMOR’s Jeff Babcock. “In our numerous conversations with client mortgage originat...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 5:16 PM
Have you ever seen someone randomly do something fairly awful/hurtful/aggressive, offer no explanation or apology, and then just leave the scene? Tha...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 4:49 PM
Mortgage rates moved markedly higher today, officially leaving them at new 4-year highs. The only other time they've earned that distinction this year...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 2:09 PM
Freddie Mac's economists say, "The broader economic environment remains favorable for home sales," but they add a lot of caveats to that statement . S...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 10:56 AM
Existing-home sales seemed to have reclaimed their footing, posting their second consecutive gain after two straight months of declines. The National ...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 9:12 AM
“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you’re talking real money,” was never actually uttered by Illinois politician Everett Dirksen. ("Oh, I ...
Mon, Apr 23 2018, 9:03 AM
I'm going to be surly this week about the way the bond market is covered in the financial media. Many of the articles to which I take exception will ...
Fri, Apr 20 2018, 5:14 PM
10yr yields hit the highest levels in more than 4 years this afternoon as bigger-picture selling pressure looks to be taking the reigns back from ...
Fri, Apr 20 2018, 2:18 PM
Let's clear one thing up before we begin. Freddie Mac, MBA, and Ellie Mae all noted new 4-year highs in mortgage rates this week. They are all technic...
Fri, Apr 20 2018, 9:27 AM
Once again Wells Fargo is about to pay dearly for its inability to walk the straight and narrow. The Washington Post , under the byline of Renae Merle...
Fri, Apr 20 2018, 9:20 AM
Rates are in the midst of a serious, threatening move higher. Yesterday brought additional confirmation of the end of the friendly Springtime conso...
Fri, Apr 20 2018, 9:18 AM
Did you know that Wells Fargo gives more assistance and aid to people and communities through its Foundation than any other company in the United Stat...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 5:03 PM
The break outside what we'll call the "Springtime Consolidation" for bonds started taking shape as early as last week. On Thursday and Friday, yiel...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 4:35 PM
Mortgage rates jumped higher today as bonds continued a move away from narrow Springtime range seen in March and early April. Bonds dictate rate movem...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 2:57 PM
The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) is to home remodelers as the Housing Market Index (HMI) is to new home builders. Each is constructed by the National...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 9:51 AM
We've been increasingly wary about a potential break of the recent consolidation/rally trend --the one that saw yields move sideways to slightly stro...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 9:36 AM
The share of refinancing loans dropped to 38 percent of loans closed in March, down from 43 percent in February. Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Repor...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 9:32 AM
Fewer homes on the market are affordable than a year ago, and fewer households can afford them with their current income. The National Association of ...
Thu, Apr 19 2018, 9:11 AM
Rumors continue to swirl about practically every lender out there, and exaggeration is rampant. A company eliminates low producing LOs in Arizona and ...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 4:49 PM
Today was a more serious version of the same sort of warning shots seen at the end of last week. At that time, bond yields rose to challenge an inter...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 3:25 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today as bond markets continued a mildly weaker trend for the month of April. Bonds (which underlie rates) are under press...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 12:01 PM
Access to credit remains tight and the Urban Institute (UI) blames in part that lenders are not measuring the credit risk of borrowers appropriately. ...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 10:36 AM
They aren't suggesting you shop 'til you drop, but Freddie Mac says neither should borrowers buy the first mortgage they see. Doug McManus and Elias Y...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 9:31 AM
The term "earnings season" gets thrown around quite a bit in financial news, but what is it, exactly? Simply put, it's a period of several weeks each...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 9:15 AM
The MBA tells us that both volume and profits were down in 2017. “ Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an ave...
Wed, Apr 18 2018, 8:31 AM
The pace of mortgage applications picked up during the week ended April 13, ending a two-week slide. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported i...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 4:47 PM
With elevated stock/bond correlation of late, it's always worth noting when things move in the opposite direction. Today was such a day, with stocks ...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 4:07 PM
Mortgage rates had a calm day. Lenders who had offered improved rate sheets yesterday afternoon didn't see much reason to drop rates any further today...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 12:27 PM
Fannie Mae's economists remain upbeat about economic growth in the medium term but said on Monday that they see increasing downside risks. In its Marc...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 10:16 AM
Much of the analysis of the past few days has focused on the downwardly sloped trend channel seen in today's first chart. This can be thought of as t...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 9:54 AM
Both housing permits and housing starts recovered in March from very disappointing performances in February. The New Residential Construction Report ,...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 9:18 AM
Less than a month after reporting some bad news about mortgage production and profits in the fourth quarter of 2017 the Mortgage Bankers Association (...
Tue, Apr 17 2018, 9:10 AM
One of the things that impact servicing values is foreclosure laws, and rates, in certain states. Foreclosures have dropped, thankfully the number of ...
Mon, Apr 16 2018, 5:20 PM
Bonds were quite a bit weaker in the overnight session. According to the average media report, this was in response to Syria-related developments. T...
Mon, Apr 16 2018, 4:38 PM
Mortgage rates began the day at higher levels, as bond markets lost ground overnight. Bonds dictate rates, and "losing ground" means bond prices are f...
Mon, Apr 16 2018, 11:01 AM
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes slipped again in April, edging down 1 point to 69. The National Association of Ho...
Mon, Apr 16 2018, 10:10 AM
Another week, another change to savor the scent of red herring in the air. Have you ever smelled a herring--let alone a red one? They're oily little...
Mon, Apr 16 2018, 9:14 AM
There is always something new in the legal arena, right? Below is news that JPMorgan Chase is pursuing remedies. Is it “legal” for Zillow to compete w...
Fri, Apr 13 2018, 8:33 PM
Bonds were technically stronger today. There is green on the screen right now for everything but 2yr Treasuries. It's not huge, but at least it's ...
Fri, Apr 13 2018, 3:52 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly higher for most lenders today even though underlying bond markets suggested the opposite. This is partly a timing issue. ...
Fri, Apr 13 2018, 11:23 AM
If they had a report card, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) would have been afraid to take it home to mom and dad. Laura S. Wertheimer, FHFA'...
Fri, Apr 13 2018, 9:56 AM
I started using some more serious words to talk about bond market weakness yesterday, but I'll make them simple and keep the assessment short this mor...
Fri, Apr 13 2018, 9:16 AM
“Rob, are you hearing of companies where branches are being picked off due to new budgetary constraints, and where new recruiting has become problemat...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 7:49 PM
At first glance, today was all about a de-escalation of yesterday's Syria rhetoric from Trump (re: "missiles"). Given that we were able to credit yes...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 6:29 PM
A day after hitting the lowest levels in more than 2 months, mortgage rates bounced back up today. The good news is that they didn't land too far from...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 12:20 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting a strong increase in new home sales in March. Its Builder Application Survey (BAS), conducted wit...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:17 AM
As Americans are nearing the deadline to file their 2017 federal income tax return, what this will put on their 2018 return is still open to debate. T...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:32 AM
On a week where the calendar of events had every right to push bond yields more decisively away from their most important recent technical level (2.79...
Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:11 AM
This commentary posts plenty of job opportunities. I have a site – www.LenderNews.com – where folks can post resumes for free (under “services) and co...
Wed, Apr 11 2018, 6:37 PM
Bonds were set to begin the day in fairly unchanged territory when Trump tweeted about launching missiles at Syria and forcing Russia to try to shoot ...
