Thu, Feb 23 2017, 10:10 AM
Rising interest rates took a toll on mortgage prepayments in January. Black Knight Financial Services said the pre-payment rate (SMM) was down 29.83 p...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 9:50 AM
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.” But what if you use knowledge to predict? Research by Goldman Sach...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 8:32 AM
Rarely do we see such a well-behaved and long-lasting consolidation trend in bond markets. This refers to a series of higher lows and lower highs. ...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 4:53 PM
More than any other day in recent memory, today's trend was remarkably narrow for bond markets. That's not to say it was "flat," though. Indeed, the...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 4:15 PM
It seemed just an aside in the National Association of Realtors press release regarding January existing home sales. NAR President William E. Brown, t...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 4:08 PM
Home prices, as measured by the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) Housing Price Index (HPI), rose even faster on an annual basis in December t...
Thu, Feb 23 2017, 3:03 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower for the 4th time in 5 days today, bringing them to their lowest levels since February 9th. The caveat to any discussion of ...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 11:01 AM
Existing home sales kicked off 2017 with a spurt that brought sales of single family homes, townhomes, condos, and cooperative apartments to the faste...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 8:45 AM
Today brings a calendar item that contains the letters "FOMC." That's typically a big deal. While it could also be a big deal today, the "FOMC Minut...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 8:25 AM
Mortgage applications activity was down slightly during the week ended February 17 compared to the previous week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MB...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 5:05 PM
Today's trading session was certainly more interesting than yesterday's--especially if we're counting overnight trading hours. European bond market...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 3:56 PM
Mortgage rates began the day decidedly lower than yesterday, but most lenders ended up revising rates higher in the mid-morning hours due to bond mark...
Wed, Feb 22 2017, 1:37 PM
Are you lending in areas where LOs are receiving more calls from recruiters than they are from real estate agents? Let’s hope not. But here’s somethin...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 2:23 PM
For the past six years, there has been a quiet revolution in the mortgage market: Big banks like JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) , Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) an...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 8:49 AM
Through the wonders of modern air travel, I find myself in Miami. But everywhere, in front of the grocery stores, in truly exciting news, are reminder...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 8:38 AM
It's another slow week for bond markets in terms of pure "economic data." The only relevant reports are Existing Home Sales (Wed), New Home Sales (...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 4:56 PM
Bonds came back from their 3-day weekend in weaker territory to start the overnight session. Losses were mild at first, and then became moderate ...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 4:14 PM
Mortgage rates were just slightly higher today, leaving them roughly in the center of a range that's persisted since mid-November. During that time th...
Tue, Feb 21 2017, 2:02 PM
It can require as little as replacing doorknobs with levers or as complex as installing a walk-in shower, but Fannie Mae says very few existing homes ...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 10:31 AM
In lender and regulator news, SoFi (Social Finance) is reportedly close to raising $500 million in fresh funds from an investor group led by Silver La...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 9:40 AM
Despite the regulations imposed by the Truth-in-Lending/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules and disclosure forms in October 2015, some homebuyers...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 9:30 AM
The National Association of Realtors ® and on-line real estate marketplace have unveiled a new housing affordability model . The model uses data on mo...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 8:56 AM
What is that cloud of dust in the distance? Is it a bird, a plane? We mix our popular culture references, but maybe it is a faint signal of approachin...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 8:39 AM
It's a real dud of a day in terms of excitement on the event/econ calendar. There are no significant economic reports and no potentially market-mov...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 4:17 PM
For all the sturm and drang seen in the middle of the week, trading levels somehow managed to hit today's 3pm close almost perfectly in line with Mo...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 3:13 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower for a 2nd straight day. This helps undo virtually all of the damage done by the first 3 days of the week. In other words, t...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 2:21 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) each reported positive financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016. The two have posted nearly uninterrupte...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:53 AM
Results from this morning's residential construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development were mixed...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:53 AM
Most mortgages contain a requirement that the collateral property carry adequate insurance to cover repayment of the mortgage in the event of a loss. ...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:38 AM
Bank of America has opened 3 completely automated branches without any employees. Customers can use ATMs or have video conferences with employees at o...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 8:31 AM
Today begins with another glut of economic data at 8:30am, although it's fairly tame compared to yesterday's CPI/Retail Sales duo. Housing Starts are...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 5:38 PM
As far as bond market rallies go, today's was one of the most mysterious in recent memory. Several conclusions will have to be jumped to in order to ...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 4:51 PM
After spending the past 5 business days moving higher, mortgage rates finally found their footing today. The improvement came in phases, with today's ...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 10:36 AM
Builder confidence in the market for single family homes slid 2 points again in February to a score of 65 on the National Association of Home Builders...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 9:56 AM
“The flat earth society has members all around the globe.” Speaking of orbs, while global wealth totals $255 trillion , the median wealth of all 4.8 b...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 8:44 AM
Applications for both purchase and refinance mortgages declined during the week ended February 10 compared to activity a week earlier. The Mortgage Ba...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 8:33 AM
Fed Chair Yellen takes the hot-seat at Congress for a 2nd day today, but this time in front of the always-cheerful and relentlessly intelligent folks ...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 5:19 PM
When it comes to the most simplistic charts of bond market trends, there are two "bad things" that rates could do in the current context. One of the...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 4:29 PM
Mortgage rates rose for the 5th day in a row following a higher reading in this morning's inflation data and an upbeat Retail Sales report. In general...
Wed, Feb 15 2017, 1:47 PM
Mortgage delinquencies had their first fourth quarter uptick since 2013, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday. Its quarterly Natio...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 8:47 AM
What did one boat say to the other? “Are you up for a little row-mance?” Oh boy. Don’t forget the chocolates for your sweetie. If the love thing doesn...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 8:29 AM
A series of "higher lows" and "lower highs" is the defining characteristic of a consolidation pattern . The following chart highlights the current c...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 5:22 PM
Bond markets (and markets in general) periodically experience an interesting phenomenon whereby traders are determined to make one of two bets followi...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 4:34 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher for the 4th straight day today, following Fed Chair Janet Yellen's congressional testimony. It wasn't that Yellen's speech...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:55 PM
Both the size of the foreclosure inventory and the number of foreclosures completed declined by large percentages from December 2015 to December 2016....
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:42 PM
No one asks for their employment verification or computes their debt-to-income ratio. Yet, when it comes to buying, selling, or renovating a home the ...
Tue, Feb 14 2017, 2:39 PM
Mortgage applications for new home purchases surged in January according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's) Builder Application S...
Mon, Feb 13 2017, 3:22 PM
Fed Chair Janet Yellen 's semiannual testimony before Congress this week comes as the banking industry is about to undergo a dramatic makeover. Conseq...
Mon, Feb 13 2017, 9:16 AM
When I was a kid I’d go the bank, and my parents’ favorite teller and I would swap my money for the silver dimes and quarters she’d saved for me. I st...
Mon, Feb 13 2017, 8:56 AM
The week ahead sees data and relevant events come out in concentrated gluts, almost exclusively in the middle of the week. Everyone's favorite headli...
