Thu, Aug 6 2015, 11:16 AM
Housing discrimination can come in many forms - but based on who your friends are? Thank you to Thomas Michel who sent along this story about how Fa...
Thu, Aug 6 2015, 10:52 AM
We expected to see some sort of consolidation of the late July bond rally this week. That's a fancy way of saying that markets would probably level-...
Thu, Aug 6 2015, 9:39 PM
It was quite a nice pre-NFP Thursday for bond markets. Trading was uneventful in our favorite sort of way where the gains begin early and losses ne...
Thu, Aug 6 2015, 8:01 PM
Mortgage rates made up some of their recently lost ground today, moving slightly lower in concert with falling stock prices. Bonds (which include...
Thu, Aug 6 2015, 7:33 AM
The Wednesday before NFP always has at least the ADP numbers to provide volatility potential. It also frequently has ISM Services data as was the cas...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 12:43 PM
Redfin, a multi-state real estate firm based in Seattle, says
it is seeing "signs of an enduring slowdown" in the housing market. This isn't neces...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 11:40 AM
It looks like the nail is in the coffin for the pre-NFP rally potential. There was some small chance today (emphasis on 'small') that economic data...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 11:26 AM
Demand
for a wide range of consumer and commercial loans increased in the
second quarter, according to a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan
o...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 9:32 AM
Last week was the best
one for mortgage applications in quite some time in terms of percent gains versus the previous week (outright index levels rem...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 7:33 AM
To be fair to the Wednesdays before NFP, sometimes they get serious and sometimes they don't. As always, the determining factor is whether there is e...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 6:21 PM
Mortgage rates continued their retreat from recent lows for a 2nd straight day after this morning's data suggested the service sector was at its s...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 6:21 PM
Yesterday afternoon's weak momentum (inspired by comments from Fed's Lockhart) carried over into the overnight session. Additional losses were contai...
Wed, Aug 5 2015, 4:50 PM
Saying that consumers should not be billed unnecessarily for
private mortgage insurance (PMI) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has
issued ...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 11:41 AM
It's common to see a pre-NFP consolidation in bond markets. This refers mainly to the Monday and Tuesday of NFP week, especially if the Monday is NOT...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 10:52 AM
The numbers of homes for sale in a few areas of the country
have now dropped below a two month supply CoreLogic said today. Prices in cities with th...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 10:35 AM
Regina Lowrie from RML Advisors
answers the question, "How should we handle the title insurance
companies, escrow companies and closing attorney...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 7:33 AM
Come Wednesday, we will have entered the final approach to Friday morning's NFP release as ADP and ISM Non-Manufacturing data are likely to set the to...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 7:26 PM
After hitting the best levels in just over 2 months yesterday, mortgage rates bounced moderately higher today. The move brings them back above ...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 7:24 PM
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is a pragmatic and reasonable member of the FOMC. He doesn't consistently grind an axe in the same way that sev...
Tue, Aug 4 2015, 1:59 PM
Returning to economic normalcy apparently means that
Americans are back into heavy-debt mode .
Black Knight Financial Services said today that lev...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 12:44 PM
There's that phrase again: "global growth concerns" --that ridiculously broad concept that speaks to all of the more negative "what ifs" surrounding ...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 10:17 AM
A
big topic at last week's MBA Hawaii annual conference was change in
the industry. As if residential lending doesn't have enough changes all
th...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 7:33 AM
At times like this in bond market history, the collective psychology is akin to the cliche ne'er-do-well from a book or movie who has finally come i...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 6:08 PM
Mortgage rates continued lower today , adding to an already impressive streak of improvement that began in mid-July. Much of that improvement has ...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 6:02 PM
There were a few good years in the middle of the financial crisis recovery where inflation data just didn't matter. Various economic reports could in...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 3:04 PM
Even though he has retired, don't you sometimes just want to
smack David Letterman? The popularity of
his Top 10 something or other lists have made...
Mon, Aug 3 2015, 1:38 PM
Public monies shored up construction spending figures in
June, just barely making up for a drop in expenditures from the private
sector. The U.S. C...
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 12:28 PM
Today's market mover came out of left field, and in a big way. The Employment Cost Index is typically a non-event, having only moved markets noticeab...
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 10:20 AM
A
rare blue moon (two full moons appearing in the same calendar month)
will be visible in the sky today for the first time in three years. We
wo...
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 9:02 PM
Get out your calendar. Flip, swipe, or glance back at May 29th. That's where we have to go to see mortgage rates any lower than they are today....
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 8:58 PM
This morning's Employment Cost Index came out of left field with sobering news for anyone counting on a 2015 Fed Rate hike. Fed Fund Futures (which m...
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 7:33 AM
Yesterday's recap mentioned a 'farewell' to low short term rates despite longer term rates 'faring well.' This is a reference to the major changes th...
Fri, Jul 31 2015, 1:06 PM
A Texas
mortgage servicer has run badly afoul of the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB) for repeated violations of servicing rules . Resi...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 11:37 AM
Finding an affordable place to rent within a reasonable
distance of employment is becoming increasingly difficult according to Freddie
Mac executi...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 11:34 AM
Bond markets came into the domestic session in slightly weaker territory owing largely to losses that occurred right at the start of the overnight ses...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 11:05 AM
The rich get richer?
When it comes to equity that appears to be the case according to
information released by RealtyTrac on Thursday. The company's...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 10:09 AM
Fun with government numbers: approximately
52.2 million people in the U.S. participated in major means-tested
government assistance programs eac...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 7:33 AM
The direction of the trend in rates (or "bond markets") varies depending on the time frame in question. For instance, looking back to the 1980's, rat...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 4:51 PM
As of mid-July bond markets seem to have put their foot down with respect to the relationship between long and short term rates. With the economic ...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 3:08 PM
Mortgage rates were very close to unchanged despite market volatility surrounding the release of today's GDP figures. GDP can occasionally cause a ...
Thu, Jul 30 2015, 2:10 PM
Well Fargo Bank announced today that it
will immediately begin winding down its marketing services and desk rental
agreements with real estate fir...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 11:37 AM
Bond markets have continued taking measured steps back from the strongest levels in nearly 3 weeks seen on Monday. So far, today's selling pressure...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 11:11 AM
I
ain't one that puts much creed into book learnin'. But somes, I'm
guessin', do. The Mortgage Bankers Association will be offering a Path to Div...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 10:13 AM
Pending home sales dipped slightly in
June, ending five straight months of increases.
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said today that...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 9:09 AM
Perhaps consumers viewed the recent retreat in rates as their last chance
to refinance before the Fed starts ratcheting up rates - maybe today, may...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 7:33 AM
Although Pending Home Sales will be out this morning at 10am, and although that's fairly interesting data in its own right, today's broader market foc...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 6:23 PM
The Fed made a few token changes to its policy statement today, but as expected, no overtures for an impending rate hike. At least that wasn't the ca...
Wed, Jul 29 2015, 5:10 PM
Mortgage rates had an exceptionally boring day despite the presence of the Fed Announcement. Major communications from the Fed (which include ann...
Tue, Jul 28 2015, 11:24 AM
Bond markets pulled back overnight on a combination of global stock market stability and European data. Selling pressure remained this morning as c...
Tue, Jul 28 2015, 10:42 AM
Home price data from S&P Dow Jones Indices was mixed for May. All three of the Case-Shiller measures, the National Index and the 10-City and 20-Cit...
