Thu, May 18 2017, 7:03 PM
It could have been a lot worse! That's a great theme for today's bond market action. Yesterday was the kind of rally where traders buy bonds first a...
Thu, May 18 2017, 6:29 PM
Financial markets are still reeling from political headlines that first began circulating on Tuesday afternoon. While stock markets made a reasonable ...
Wed, May 17 2017, 9:53 AM
The Home Affordable Refinance Program or HARP may be in its waning days, but is still being used by underwater homeowners . The Federal Housing Financ...
Wed, May 17 2017, 9:40 AM
Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Team had as a headline for its May forecast, It's Déjà Vu All Over (and Over) Again. Déjà vu indeed, as f...
Wed, May 17 2017, 9:01 AM
I hate politics and talking about political issues with anyone, ever, unless they have a clear and specific impact on bond markets. That was the case...
Wed, May 17 2017, 8:51 AM
A Bank Director survey of bank directors, execs, and HR officers finds the top compensation challenges last year were, in order, tying compensation to...
Wed, May 17 2017, 8:38 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said today that mortgage applications were down across the board during the week ended May 12, with refinancing...
Wed, May 17 2017, 5:32 PM
Today will either go down as a game-changing rally in the course of bond traders' decision making process for 2017, or as an epic head-fake that p...
Wed, May 17 2017, 5:06 PM
Mortgage rates surged significantly lower today, as a part of a broad-based market movement following a political scandal that began taking shape yest...
Tue, May 16 2017, 9:18 AM
In compensation news, Merrill Lynch's wealth management unit will discontinue signing bonuses for experienced brokers beginning June 1, instead focusi...
Tue, May 16 2017, 9:08 AM
All three residential construction measures for April were lower than those in March. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Develo...
Tue, May 16 2017, 9:06 AM
I'll be one of the first to tell you that traditional concept of stock prices moving in the same direction in bond yields breaks down when viewing lon...
Tue, May 16 2017, 8:37 PM
The week began in slow fashion yesterday both in terms of volume and volatility. That largely remained the case in the bigger picture today, despite...
Tue, May 16 2017, 2:50 PM
Compared to yesterday, mortgage rates are either a little bit higher or lower depending on the lender at the moment. On average, they've inched just p...
Mon, May 15 2017, 11:17 AM
Applications for new home purchase mortgages fell by 19.4 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis in April. The Mortgage Bankers Association said r...
Mon, May 15 2017, 10:33 AM
Builder confidence just hit its highest level since December , reaching the second highest level since well before the housing crisis began. The Natio...
Mon, May 15 2017, 9:22 AM
Last Friday represented a potential shift in the recent trend toward higher rates that began in mid-April. 10yr yields (which we track as the best ...
Mon, May 15 2017, 8:56 AM
Economists, like royal children are not punished for their errors. Data revision can be a career strategy for some, and certainly some companies wish ...
Mon, May 15 2017, 6:55 PM
Last week ended with the hope that rates were breaking below the uptrend that had been in place since mid-April. Certainly, if we had to judge that...
Mon, May 15 2017, 6:28 PM
Mortgage rates were s teady to slightly higher today, largely maintaining the improvements seen last week. Underlying financial markets were calm and ...
Mon, May 15 2017, 1:29 PM
The first quarter of 2017 the year saw home prices in large metropolitan areas appreciate at the fastest rate in nearly two years . The National Assoc...
Fri, May 12 2017, 12:39 PM
Rising wages helped to boost housing affordability in the first quarter, even as interest rates rose. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)...
Fri, May 12 2017, 11:49 AM
Want to help educate a real estate agent, or a home buyer? Show them this site . "...comprehensive, accurate, and reliable neighborhood information. F...
Fri, May 12 2017, 9:21 AM
It's going to be a chart-focused commentary today, because frankly, there's not much to say with words. The bottom line is that this morning's econom...
Fri, May 12 2017, 6:24 PM
Bonds were losing ground clearly and convincingly this week, until this morning's economic data came along. To be fair , we might say that bonds beg...
Fri, May 12 2017, 5:30 PM
Most of the movement in mortgage rates had been slow, steady, and generally unfriendly in recent weeks. Today was a stark exception as rates surged si...
Thu, May 11 2017, 10:32 AM
For me this week includes Maryland , Utah, Wyoming , and California. There are all kinds of rumors out there, ranging from Donald Trump naming Brian M...
Thu, May 11 2017, 9:36 AM
You've no doubt run across the phrase "the beatings will continue until morale improves." That's not too far from being an apt assessment of an uptre...
Thu, May 11 2017, 6:41 PM
To be fair to bond markets, they might not have needed much help to hold their ground today had it not been for the stronger economic data in the morn...
Thu, May 11 2017, 4:43 PM
It's been slow and steady, to be sure, but mortgage rates finally inched their way up to the highest levels in more than a month today, depending on t...
Thu, May 11 2017, 2:48 PM
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt had three messages for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thu...
Wed, May 10 2017, 9:43 AM
Any time rates have been trending decidedly higher (as they have been since mid-April), every day of gains has the potential to become the turning po...
Wed, May 10 2017, 9:35 AM
For appraisers, sometimes a simple 3 bedroom, 2 bath tract home can have complications that make things difficult. What about houses that actually "hi...
Wed, May 10 2017, 8:20 AM
Both purchase and refinance applications increased during the week ended May 5. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index, a me...
Wed, May 10 2017, 6:46 PM
Bond markets were having a decent enough day during the morning hours. Stocks and European markets were weaker, dragging bond yields lower in a clas...
Wed, May 10 2017, 6:26 PM
Mortgage rates were steady to slightly higher again today, making it the 13th out of the past 16 business days without an improvement. The situation w...
Tue, May 9 2017, 10:28 AM
After moving along a nearly flat track for several years, consumer sentiment regarding whether "now" is a good time to buy a home started to rise and ...
Tue, May 9 2017, 10:22 AM
While the historically low homeownership rate as reported by the Census Bureau has improved only marginally over the last year, a recent survey by Gal...
Tue, May 9 2017, 10:12 AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is revisiting its 2013 RESPA Mortgage Servicing Rule. The rule, after several amendments, took effect on Janu...
Tue, May 9 2017, 10:08 AM
I hate to break the news, but racial diversity exists in the United States. In fact, many will tell you that it is one of the U.S.’s strongest attribu...
Tue, May 9 2017, 9:46 AM
Let me take you back--but not necessarily "way back"--to March 2017. Geopolitical risks weren't on the radar yet (no Syria air strike, North Korea th...
Tue, May 9 2017, 6:23 PM
Let's get the caveats out of the way. Bond markets ended the day in slightly weaker territory, and the broader trend remains toward higher yields. M...
Tue, May 9 2017, 2:56 PM
Earlier this week we reported that BuzzFeed reporter Mary Ann Georgantopoulos had released a copy of an April letter sent by House Financial Services ...
Tue, May 9 2017, 2:51 PM
CoreLogic's monthly Loan Performance Report for February shows the national mortgage delinquency rate, loans that were 30 or more days past due, decli...
Tue, May 9 2017, 2:29 PM
Mortgage rates haven't necessarily moved higher every day recently. For instance, yesterday's rates were unchanged versus last Friday's. But the gener...
Mon, May 8 2017, 10:15 AM
Can a letter, or another form of communication, sent by Party A and received by Party B, remain the exclusive property of Party A, even when in the ph...
Mon, May 8 2017, 9:31 AM
Is LBHI's third wave of claims against and lenders and brokers starting? According to the American Mortgage Law Group's Managing Member, James Brody, ...
Mon, May 8 2017, 9:23 AM
The economic and event calendar is fairly light this week, especially on the first few days. The importance and pace of potential market movers incre...
Mon, May 8 2017, 6:54 PM
We've been tracking an uptrend in yields since they bottomed out in mid April. There was some hope that we would see a firmer ceiling take shape head...
Mon, May 8 2017, 6:12 PM
Mortgage rates were generally unchanged today. This is actually quite an accomplishment if you ask the average bond market participant. Mortgage rates...
