Fri, May 26 2017, 2:31 PM
Mortgage rates didn't move much today. Lenders that made detectable adjustments generally did so in a moderately positive direction. While this isn't ...
Fri, May 26 2017, 8:54 AM
Ready to rush off and join the blockchain rush? Not so fast. The implementation of blockchain technology in the financial-services industry is meeting...
Fri, May 26 2017, 8:28 AM
Up until yesterday, the past week and a half of trading ran the risk of taking the shape of an uptrend leading back from the lows that followed last w...
Thu, May 25 2017, 4:54 PM
After seeing today's trading--especially when we consider it in the context of recent technical levels and yesterday's bounce around 2.25% in 10yr yie...
Thu, May 25 2017, 4:08 PM
Mortgage rates fell today despite relatively uneventful movement in underlying bond markets (which drive day to day changes in rates). The net improve...
Thu, May 25 2017, 11:09 AM
Rather than taking a step back this year, home sales now seem ready to best their 2016 numbers. Freddie Mac's economists admit that, up until this mon...
Thu, May 25 2017, 11:06 AM
It often gets lost in the shuffle, but the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is not just the regulator and conservator of the government sponsored...
Thu, May 25 2017, 9:50 AM
Montana may have its issues with politicians vying for the WWE title belt, but the state does seem to steer clear of cyberattacks. At least, it does i...
Thu, May 25 2017, 9:14 AM
Tuesday of this week was a bit alarming for bond markets as it introduced the possibility that yields were opting for upward momentum after bottoming ...
Wed, May 24 2017, 4:45 PM
Bonds began the day in inconsequentially stronger territory and soon moved to the worst levels in a week leading up to the 5yr Treasury auction. Th...
Wed, May 24 2017, 3:35 PM
Mortgage rates moved moderately higher this morning, beginning the day at the highest levels in roughly 2 weeks. Afternoon events helped underlying bo...
Wed, May 24 2017, 10:04 AM
Existing homes declined in April, falling back by 2.3 percent in April when compared to March 2017 levels. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR)...
Wed, May 24 2017, 9:56 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is reporting another significantly high set of results for its Housing Price Index (HPI). The current values...
Wed, May 24 2017, 9:16 AM
Today's main event from a "street cred" standpoint will be the 2pm release of the Minutes from the last Fed meeting . This is a detailed account of ...
Wed, May 24 2017, 8:43 AM
Trends in New Home Sales "Pending" Home Sales, "Existing" Home Sales, and "New" Home Sales - take your pick. They all show something slightly differen...
Wed, May 24 2017, 8:29 AM
While Black Knight Financial Services maintains it was a function of seasonality, mortgage delinquencies increased in April by the largest percentage ...
Wed, May 24 2017, 8:24 AM
Refinancing shored up the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index during the week ended May 19. While purchase mortgages slowed , the Co...
Tue, May 23 2017, 4:21 PM
Much like the week before last, we're seeing an abundance of new "supply" hitting the bond market. This comes both in the form of the scheduled Tre...
Tue, May 23 2017, 3:54 PM
Mortgage rates began the day in decent shape with the average lender roughly unchanged versus yesterday. As the day progressed, bond markets (which di...
Tue, May 23 2017, 3:53 PM
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its proposed 2018 budget on Tuesday, saying it will continue to provide rental ass...
Tue, May 23 2017, 1:33 PM
Ask anyone house hunting this spring, and they'll tell you there are far too few homes for sale. But, really, it's the price tags of the homes for sal...
Tue, May 23 2017, 10:08 AM
Sales of newly constructed homes lost momentum in April, reversing three straight months of gains. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and...
Tue, May 23 2017, 10:01 AM
I do my best to group updates to create a narrative that is more "user friendly" than to just throw news out there. But some updates don't fit into co...
Tue, May 23 2017, 9:45 AM
Although yields have risen modestly over the past 3 trading session, they've done so from the best levels in more than 7 months. If we take a few ste...
Mon, May 22 2017, 9:32 AM
Last week was characterized by one big day of volume and volatility surrounding the apparently scandalous and sensational political headlines. By now...
Mon, May 22 2017, 8:53 AM
I recently heard a CEO say, “I am fine competing on product, price, and service. But we shouldn’t have to compete on subjective interpretations of rul...
Mon, May 22 2017, 5:08 PM
Today was super slow for bond markets with 10yr yields holding under the same ceiling that was in place on Friday (2.25+). At the same time, the lo...
Mon, May 22 2017, 4:39 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly higher for the 3rd straight day, continuing a modest bounce back from the year's lowest rates last Wednesday. In a nutshe...
Fri, May 19 2017, 9:33 AM
For me this week included time in Salt Lake City, Columbus, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Raleigh. (The mood is good as individuals continue to share ...
Fri, May 19 2017, 9:11 AM
If bonds hadn't undergone their highest volume move of the year on Wednesday and Thursday, we would have expected this week to be relatively dead in...
Fri, May 19 2017, 8:46 AM
The status of the GSE's (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), as well as the topic of housing finance reform continue to be "hot," according to Melvin L. Watt...
Fri, May 19 2017, 3:00 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher for the 2nd straight day after hitting the lowest levels in more than 7 months earlier this week. Wednesday's big move...
Thu, May 18 2017, 11:45 AM
Conventional wisdom, the lending version, holds that refinance loans are inherently less risky than purchase loans, but a recent analysis from the Urb...
Thu, May 18 2017, 11:06 AM
The average period necessary to close a mortgage shortened again in April, dwindling by another day from the March timeline to 42 days . This was the ...
Thu, May 18 2017, 10:57 AM
This may, or may not be a cause for celebration. The New York Federal Reserve Bank, using credit data from Equifax, reports that Americans are now bac...
Thu, May 18 2017, 9:57 AM
Imagine being able to keep the money you earn!? Per Mr. Mel Watt, Fannie & Freddie might have to keep their profits to avoid rescue . Mr. Watt, who ha...
Thu, May 18 2017, 9:13 AM
I can't emphasize this enough: when bond markets have a day like they had yesterday, it's often followed shortly thereafter by a correction. In the c...
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...
