Wed, Aug 17 2016, 3:11 PM
Mortgage Rates were sideways to slightly higher today, although some lenders offered modest improvements after the release of the Minutes from the mos...
Tue, Aug 16 2016, 9:56 AM
Housing starts rose in July while permits fell from the previous month's rate for the third consecutive time. Both indicators, however, regained a pos...
Tue, Aug 16 2016, 9:35 AM
Only two weeks until Labor Day? How did that happen? Will AIG and Arch MI figure out which reps have which territories after the purchase of UG goes t...
Tue, Aug 16 2016, 8:30 AM
We've recently seen a refreshing reconnection between bond markets and economic data. I say "refreshing" because the classic connection between str...
Tue, Aug 16 2016, 3:48 PM
There's something that's just too fun about entertaining conspiracy theories --especially when it comes to the Fed's rhetorical platform. Take for i...
Tue, Aug 16 2016, 2:59 PM
Mortgage Rates were sideways to slightly higher today, depending on the lender. Several lenders issued mid-day reprices as bond yields moved higher th...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 10:32 AM
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) improved slightly in August, but remained within the narrow ra...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 10:31 AM
“Rob, are we heading back to loans with LTVs greater than 100%?” I doubt it, but certainly there are some high LTV programs out there, over and above ...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 9:27 AM
If you're on the very youngest fringe of the mortgage market participant age range, you might know what a "meme" is. And if you're up to speed on anc...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 4:15 PM
Strong home sales, near-historic low interest rates, a burst of refinancing, and continued home price growth are moving Freddie Mac's economic team to...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 3:50 PM
Sure, we've 'endured' the rigors of a day-to-day ups and downs in bond markets over the past month, but if we step back from the charts by more than a...
Mon, Aug 15 2016, 3:01 PM
In addition to writing about mortgage rates , I also follow and analyze the underlying bond markets. Early on in that endeavor, one of my favorite phr...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 3:20 PM
In the middle of a prolonged period of negative real interest rates and loose monetary policy aimed at managing inflation and helping economies, fears...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 12:43 PM
The following is a true story (though the names have been changed to protect privacy) of how Carey and Jan bought their new home despite no down payme...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 9:56 AM
Loan officers are very interested in guidance on things like Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact. What would happen if an originator offered a di...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 9:08 AM
By Wednesday of this week, we were assessing the possibility of a positive break of the range in bonds. Yesterday, those hopes were dashed by a fai...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 4:23 PM
Today was another nice, simple day for bond markets. Yields entered the domestic session slightly lower, thanks to weak data overseas. Even then, ...
Fri, Aug 12 2016, 3:37 PM
Just a day after bouncing firmly higher from the lowest levels in a month, mortgage rates are right back down to the bottom of the recent range. For s...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 12:34 PM
The delinquency rate for mortgages on one-to-four residential properties fell in the second quarter of 2016 to its lowest rate in exactly ten years wh...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 11:46 AM
There has been a lot of focus in recent years on two topics; the gradual but steady decline in the homeownership rate and the huge Millennial generati...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 9:52 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that new home sales in July were down by 8 percent compared to June. Sales during the month will surpa...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 9:49 AM
As the productivity of the male part of our industry grinds to a screeching halt due to looking up “Beach volleyball cheerleaders” on Google Images, I...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 9:41 AM
In July 2012 and July 2016, 10yr yields visit to all time lows was cordoned-off fairly neatly by yields in the 1.50-1.52 neighborhood. We've been t...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 3:59 PM
Coming into today, bond markets were amped up. UK 10yr yields hit new all-time lows yesterday. German 10yr yields were close to hitting all-time l...
Thu, Aug 11 2016, 3:25 PM
Mortgage rates bounced higher today , after 2 solid days of improvement. In the bigger picture, rates are still closer to the lowest levels of the pas...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 9:41 AM
It would be interesting to find out the last time some political candidate wasn't on the front page of all the major newspapers. What did we talk abou...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 9:21 AM
A slight downturn in mortgage interest rates during the week ended August 5 was more than matched by a surge in mortgage activity. Once again it was r...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 9:04 AM
First off, let's cover the huge drop in MBS prices overnight. Fannie 3.0s, for instance, closed at 103-29 and then began today at 103-23--all this de...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 5:12 PM
Bonds strong overnight with more help from Europe
10yr Auction strong this afternoon with massive foreign support
1.52-1.62 range in 10yr yields...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 4:27 PM
Mortgage rates improved again today , bringing them back in line with the lowest levels of the month. Considering that today is only the 10th day of t...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 3:18 PM
Homebuyers and sellers are both apparently finding discounts and rebates readily available in the real estate world. Redfin, the Seattle-based real es...
Wed, Aug 10 2016, 3:15 PM
Instead of writing off citizens in their golden years - or in this case semi-golden - Dave Lowman suggests lenders view them as a business opportunity...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 9:32 AM
The national foreclosure scenario continues to
improve . CoreLogic's June National Foreclosure Report shows the foreclosure inventory declined
b...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 9:28 AM
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) made,
what for it, was a significant jump in July, reaching the highest level in the
history of th...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 9:16 AM
Let’s hope this is not a “here we go again” situation. RealtyTrac reports home flipping (defined as a
property that is bought and resold within 1-y...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 9:11 AM
Today's chart has a piece of technical analysis I haven't posted in quite a while, but it's fairly easy to understand and fairly useful. The tech in ...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 4:59 PM
Bonds were facing headwinds as the week began. Friday had just seen an exceptionally strong NFP. Yields were quickly pushing toward the higher end o...
Tue, Aug 9 2016, 4:07 PM
It was a good day for mortgage rates . After moving higher at a somewhat disconcerting pace last Friday, rates were quickly approaching the upper boun...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 10:19 AM
The phenomenon is very uneven geographically, but
CoreLogic says that one factor behind the sustained pace of home price
appreciation is the return...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 10:08 AM
There’s no question that rent levels in many urban areas are helping lenders. Research by ApartmentList.com finds the most expensive cities, in order ...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 9:12 AM
Bond markets sold-off fairly aggressively following Friday's strong jobs report with 10yr yields moving up nearly 10bps and Fannie 3.0s falling roughl...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 5:30 PM
Today could have been better, but it could have been much worse. After the big spike that followed Friday's jobs report, bonds were on the weaker edg...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 4:29 PM
Mortgage rates continued higher today, extending a sharp move that began on Friday following stronger-than-expected employment data. There are two dis...
Mon, Aug 8 2016, 3:33 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have
released results of their respective performances on the " Severely Adverse
scenario" of the stress tests required ...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 10:55 AM
The Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA) reported that its Mortgage Credit Availability Index
increased by one point in July, and announced that its...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 10:49 AM
“Q: How do you transfer funds even faster than electronic banking? A: By getting married!” That’s my attempt to ease into the news that the IRS increa...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 8:29 AM
Granted, by the time most of you read this, NFP will already be out, but I'm not as interested in the initial reaction as I am in how things play out ...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 6:40 PM
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Comptroller
of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve are proposing technical changes
to th...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 6:39 PM
In the constantly-evolving modern era of market-watching, it's rare to see simply, old-school "cause and effect" relationship between data and market ...
Fri, Aug 5 2016, 5:36 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher at the fastest pace in more than 3 weeks today, following a much stronger-than-expected jobs report. The Employment Situat...
