Fri, Sep 15 2017, 5:09 PM
Between the overnight session and domestic trading hours, the following voices tried to get inside the head of bond markets:
A North Korean miss...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 4:41 PM
Mortgage rates were steady to slightly lower on average today, confirming the end of a somewhat abrupt correction from last week's 2017 lows. In other...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 11:11 AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPB) does not provide guidance to the financial institutions it regulates. Instead it has evolved into a re...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 9:25 AM
Florida is sometimes called, “God’s waiting room.” The area, tragically, has seen its share of destruction & death this month, but the airports are ba...
Fri, Sep 15 2017, 9:13 AM
Granted, the headline of today's commentary will be lost on those who aren't reasonably well-versed in Monty Python, but it was worth the risk to ente...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 5:10 PM
We've been steadfast in characterizing this week's sell-off as a "correction" to the strong rally that preceded it. One might have argued that the ri...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 2:51 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher today, despite resilience in underlying bond markets. If you were to ask bonds, they'd vote for rates remaining flat--well...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 9:21 AM
Disaster-related news continues to be front-and-center for obvious reasons. HUD announced it will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Fl...
Thu, Sep 14 2017, 8:28 AM
Yesterday morning's chart is just as germane for today, perhaps more so. It shows how bonds have reacted to CPI data over the past few months. Altho...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 4:15 PM
Treasury yields hit their highest levels in exactly 3 weeks today with little apparent motivation. Indeed, volumes remained lower than recent average...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 3:13 PM
Mortgage rates held steady today, and were slightly lower in some cases. That's not entirely logical at first glance because the bonds that dictate mo...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 1:58 PM
As homeowners in Houston struggle to dry out and rebuild, they may also struggle to make payments on their mortgages. New estimates suggest at least 3...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 10:13 AM
CoreLogic reported on Tuesday that the national mortgage delinquency rate in June was again the lowest in nearly a decade . The company's Loan Perform...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 9:25 AM
I do my share of traveling (California Monday, Ohio yesterday, Tennessee today & tomorrow) and see how the residential lending environment changes in ...
Wed, Sep 13 2017, 8:53 AM
Today's only relevant economic data is the Producer Price Index (PPI)--an inflation metric at the wholesale level. Although inflation is back in the...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 4:42 PM
Today could be viewed at least 2 ways if you're a fan of low rates. On one hand, you might despair to see that rates are continuing higher after bo...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 4:10 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher at a reasonably abrupt pace today as last week's themes have been completely reversed. What themes are those? Generall...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 11:21 AM
Last year Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced that their implementation of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) would continue through the en...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 11:21 AM
If anything could be worse than half of the adults in the country having their personal and credit information hacked and stolen, it could be the way ...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 9:28 AM
Lender and Investor Disaster Updates Conditions are subject to change; check with investors if you have questions. NewLeaf has temporarily ceased fund...
Tue, Sep 12 2017, 8:53 AM
Yesterday was the warning shot and today could see confirmation that bonds are indeed bouncing. Actually, it's probably more appropriate to view ...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 5:22 PM
Mortgage rates finally had a bad day , but everything's relative. This sort of bad day leaves the average lender quoting rates that would have been th...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 5:22 PM
We'd been in the throes of a risk-related rally for several weeks that crescendoed last week on a combination of North Korea and natural disasters. ...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 9:56 AM
While Irma is battering the Florida coast and costing untold billions in damages, Black Knight Financial Services released information about the ultim...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 9:29 AM
Builder chatter? Builders in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida now have a choice: build new homes or help repair existing stock. Labor will be in short su...
Mon, Sep 11 2017, 8:50 AM
Bond markets are beginning the week in a defensive stance after insurance analysts report expected Irma-related losses to be lower than originally f...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 5:26 PM
With an absence of significant economic events and the storm of the century bearing down on the Southeast, trading activity was understandably a bit...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 4:58 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly lower today, despite moderate weakness in underlying bond markets. This would typically coincide with higher rates, but m...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 11:32 AM
In response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession, some central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, put some unconv...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 9:29 AM
A large earthquake in Mexico, damage in Southern Texas from Hurricane Harvey, and, although Irma has been downgraded, mandatory evacuations in the Mia...
Fri, Sep 8 2017, 9:22 AM
Bonds have been on a tear recently , easily breaking to the lowest yields of the year this week after some exploratory attempts last week. Geopoliti...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 4:31 PM
2 months ago, today's European Central Bank announcement looked like it would be a big deal insofar as it would be the venue for the ECB's first off...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 3:06 PM
Mortgage rates didn't move much today, despite plenty of strength in underlying bond markets. This would normally coincide with lower rates, so what's...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 1:18 PM
As hurricane Irma roars toward Florida, and the Houston area tries to dry out from hurricane Harvey, Fannie Mae is reminding those homeowners might be...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 12:12 PM
Consumer sentiment regarding whether it is a good time to buy or to sell a home continues to diverge as rising home prices impact both. Fannie Mae sai...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 9:33 AM
As fires, floods, and storms dominate the headlines, our attention now turns to Irma. With wind speeds of 185mph, it is expected to pass near or just ...
Thu, Sep 7 2017, 8:17 AM
Ask me two months (or even a month ago) and I would have placed today above almost any other in terms of importance to the overall outlook. The rea...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 4:56 PM
Bond markets began the day holding impressively sideways. Why impressive? Because there was a small laundry list of potential reasons for weakness...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 4:55 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower this morning, more by way of catching up with yesterday's market movement than anything. Specifically, bond markets (which ...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 10:45 AM
Mortgage originations by nonbanks have not only surged past those coming from regulated banks, but according to the Urban Institute (UI), they are hel...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 9:20 AM
I receive my share of emails, and a portion of them ask me “in the weeds” questions about lenders, programs, and states (“Rob, hook me up with a whole...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 9:16 AM
Until the onset of brinksmanship with North Korea and the appearance of big, back-to-back Hurricanes, financial markets were more focused on long-term...
Wed, Sep 6 2017, 8:14 AM
A resurgence in refinancing drove the volume of mortgage applications higher during the week ended September 1. The Mortgage Bankers Association said ...
Tue, Sep 5 2017, 5:01 PM
Bonds rallied significantly today on a confluence of news. Disparate events and headlines hit markets at just the right time and in just the right ...
Tue, Sep 5 2017, 4:04 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower today on a combination of factors. Chief among these were headlines over the weekend concerning more North Korean weapons t...
Tue, Sep 5 2017, 9:56 AM
Black Knight Financial Services put a coda on home price reports for June while CoreLogic opened the next round for July. Both report another round of...
Tue, Sep 5 2017, 9:29 AM
Welcome to the Monday-est Tuesday of the year. Hey, the cost to produce a home loan has fallen! Per the Mortgage Bankers Association, total loan produ...
Tue, Sep 5 2017, 9:05 AM
Global financial markets moved away from risk to start the holiday-shortened week as more North Korean missile drama made the news over the weekend....
Fri, Sep 1 2017, 6:06 PM
We talk a lot about participation among traders dropping off at mid-day when European markets close, but today's version turned bond markets into a ve...
Fri, Sep 1 2017, 2:24 PM
Mortgage rates were sideways to slightly higher today despite a weak reading of the Employment Situation (aka "the jobs report"). This is traditionall...
