Tue, Jan 31 2017, 9:42 AM
As the old adage goes, “Women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend thinking.” But certainly women spend a good deal of time ...
Tue, Jan 31 2017, 8:39 AM
Yesterday was a bit of a puzzler for bond markets. Volumes were decent, but movement was contained in a very narrow range (seen in the chart below). ...
Tue, Jan 31 2017, 5:01 PM
Bonds have rallied moderately since last Thursday. Incidentally, that's also when stocks topped out after their run to all-time highs (for most indic...
Tue, Jan 31 2017, 3:52 PM
Mortgage rates moved just a bit lower today, bringing them to their best levels in exactly 1 week. Most borrowers will see little-to-no difference bet...
Tue, Jan 31 2017, 3:51 PM
The Urban Institute releases a regular report, Housing Finance at a Glance , a "chartbook" loaded with charts and commentary on mortgage activity. The...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 10:54 AM
Home price increases reported by Black Knight Financial Services based on November home sales were little changed from those reported for October. The...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 10:08 AM
Pending home sales recovered from the reported 2.5 percent downturn they took in November, posting an increase of 1.6 percent in December. The Nationa...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 10:04 AM
I certainly am hearing some dire numbers from appraisers out there – like their business, which kind of gets the ball rolling for a loan so could be c...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 9:04 AM
Another week in early 2017, another chance for bond markets to defend the rate ceiling set in late 2016(around 2.64% in 10yr yields) or strive for the...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 5:26 PM
It was an uneventful day for bond markets from most points of view. After opening slightly stronger in Asia, Treasuries sold-off modestly during th...
Mon, Jan 30 2017, 4:40 PM
Mortgage rates fell modestly today , keeping rates near the lower end of the range seen since January 18th. The catch is that rates moved sharply high...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 1:26 PM
If you're out house hunting this weekend, expect to pay more for the same house that was on the market last weekend. New policy from the administratio...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 9:48 AM
One would like to think that, as an industry, we’re emerging from the public relations nightmare. And yet the popular press continues the ordeal , the...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 8:25 AM
So far this week, economic data has played a subdued, almost meaningless role in motivating bond market movement. Instead, we've seen big picture t...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 4:37 PM
It was a fairly one-dimensional day for bond markets, and indeed, markets in general. Despite moderate strength in European bond markets overnight, U...
Fri, Jan 27 2017, 3:34 PM
Mortgage rates fell today, undoing enough of this week's damage to return precisely to levels seen last Friday. In simpler terms, rates ended the week...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 10:56 AM
Sales of distressed properties continue to represent a diminishing share of the housing market as does the use of all-cash for housing purchase. Still...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 10:52 AM
New home sales contracted sharply in December, more than reversing their November gain and ending the year at a slightly lower rate than that of the p...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 10:27 AM
The average used car depreciated about 23% last year, faster than the historical average annual rate of 18%, per the National Automobile Dealers Assoc...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 8:36 AM
The winter holiday season can be defined a few different ways. Most broadly, it refers to Thanksgiving through President's day. That's a bit too br...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 4:28 PM
It may not be the last time we can say this, but bonds hit their weakest levels of 2017 today--first in the overnight session as European bond markets...
Thu, Jan 26 2017, 3:17 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher for the 6th time in the past 7 business days, even after several lenders offered mid-day improvements in the afternoon. Th...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 10:29 AM
Home prices continued their nearly unabated upward trend in November according to data released on Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FH...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 9:02 AM
"If you want to be successful on the highest level, be willing to serve on the lowest." That is a great statement for companies who take charity work ...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 8:46 AM
Applications for purchase mortgages increased during the week ended January 20, pushing the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's) Market Composite In...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 8:40 AM
The first few weeks of the new year were good for bond markets, but that dream is increasingly being shattered by the past 2 weeks. We were already r...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 5:38 PM
There were no major headlines this morning and no big economic reports behind bonds' big selling spree. Some news stories suggested overnight bond we...
Wed, Jan 25 2017, 4:59 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher for the 5th time in the past 6 business days. The past 2 days have combined to bring rates a full .125% higher. That's the...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 11:15 AM
Existing home sales finished out 2016 with a generally expected decline. Still, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said today that 2016 overa...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 9:43 AM
Depository banks know that, per the AARP, more than 67% of US assets are controlled by individuals age 50+, with this group representing more than 67%...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 9:10 AM
Today's only significant economic data hits at 10am ET with Existing Home Sales (5.52 mln forecast vs 5.61 mln previously). Given the bigger decline ...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 5:17 PM
Bond markets began the day in weaker territory following overnight weakness in European bond markets. In addition, bond buyers generally got their ...
Tue, Jan 24 2017, 3:56 PM
Mortgage rates have been volatile recently, with 3 out of the past 5 business days seeing much-bigger-than-average moves. After improving nicely yeste...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 11:18 AM
The only loan performance metric reported by Black Knight Financial Service's December and thus year-end "first look" that rose in 2016 was the prepay...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 9:31 AM
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those that lost their lives in storms in the South and East. On the other coast, Los Angeles has re...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 8:52 AM
Beginning on the business week before an FOMC Announcement, Fed speakers are "highly discouraged" (forbidden, basically) from making public speeches o...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 6:55 PM
Mt. St. Helens was the most destructive volcano in US history. Mt. St. Yellen has almost nothing to do with it apart from the fact that the bond m...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 5:21 PM
Mortgage rates fell somewhat significantly today, fully offsetting last week's rise. Specifically, today's average rates are back in line with those s...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 10:31 AM
How many people find fault seemingly every day with the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac programs or structure? Plenty – see below – they can’t seem t...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 9:24 AM
10yr yields hit 2.5112 overnight. That's close enough to the important 2.52% pivot point to suggest an expansion of what we consider the current rang...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 5:28 PM
To be fair to today's presidential inauguration, it was never destined to be an exceptionally big market mover. Traders nonetheless had to prepare to...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 4:40 PM
Mortgage rates rose slightly today, on average, but performances varied by lender and depending on the time of day. Rates were higher across the board...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 3:02 PM
As was being widely rumored yesterday, the newly installed Trump Administration has indefinitely suspended a scheduled reduction in the annual premium...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 2:59 PM
How will the economic philosophy that was altered by the last election actually evolve into policy? The is the question raised by Fannie Mae's Economi...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 2:53 PM
Ellie Mae said its Origination Insight Report for December reflects the first effects of rising interest rates . Loans for refinancing slipped from 47...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 2:50 PM
While it trails well behind credit history and debt-to-income levels, collateral problems are consistently the third most frequent cause of loan denia...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 12:19 PM
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nominee Ben Carson said at his confirmation hearing, "Certainly, if confirmed, I am going to work wit...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 10:04 AM
Housing starts continued their see-saw pattern in December, rising 11.3 percent from November when they had fallen significantly after a sensational O...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 9:25 AM
How has housing changed in the last 100 years? It’s easy to see when a “vertical flight” is put together, and Trulia posted current listings that were...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 8:34 AM
When it comes to defining the recent range, there are several candidates for the upper and lower boundaries. When 10yr yields were under 2.40%, that ...
