Thu, Jun 26 2014, 5:55 PM
For a second day, bond markets and/or mortgage rates (take your pick) frolicked outside the walls of the castle. In this case, that castle is "the ra...
Thu, Jun 26 2014, 4:52 PM
Mortgage rates moved just slightly lower on average, though some lenders were unchanged or higher. The most prevalently quoted conforming 30yr fi...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 12:27 PM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is making
another attempt to reach homeowners who might benefit from its Home Affordable
Refinance Progr...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 12:14 PM
Freddie Mac said today that the U.S.
housing market is sending mixed signals .
Most markets, according to the company's Multi-Indicator Market Ind...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 12:11 PM
The
Office of Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (OIG-FHFA)
has completed an evaluation of how well FHFA oversees Freddie Mac ...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 12:04 PM
I
was recently walking in a large city, on my way to do a warehouse field
exam, when a young man on a skateboard passed me going the other
direc...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 11:56 AM
It's been a nice, straightforward morning for bond markets. Data was much weaker than expected and bonds rallied as a result.
That said, it's not...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 9:14 AM
Mortgage Applications slowed for the second straight time last week but
the loss was modest compared to the 9.2 percent plunge during the week that...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 7:42 AM
Bond market participation is such a big and complex thing that the true nature of cause and effect can only be guessed at. Some guesses are more edu...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 5:31 PM
If you happened to look at MBS/Treasuries around 8:35am, the day was looking pretty great. But that ended up being the best of it, and a long, slow s...
Wed, Jun 25 2014, 3:48 PM
Mortgage rates fell nicely today
following the much weaker-than-expected reading on Q1 GDP. The
improvement takes average rates to their lowes...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 12:56 PM
The U.S.
foreclosure inventory rate dropped below 2 percent in May for the first time
since the summer of 2008 . The rate,
which reflects the p...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 11:42 AM
Technically, MBS and Treasuries are both in positive territory when compared to yesterday's closing levels. That said, those closing levels were the ...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 11:25 AM
New home sales rose at the fastest pace in more than 20 years last month, hitting levels not seen since 2008. The Census
Bureau and the Department...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 11:01 AM
There are 2 million "missing households" in
the US - which represents pent up demand for new residences in the US.
These are Millennials who are...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 10:36 AM
Depending on which report you read this morning - that from
Case-Shiller or from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), home
prices in
April ...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 7:51 AM
While tomorrow arguably hosts the week's most important economic report, today wins in terms of sheer volume and variety. We get almost every flavor...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 4:33 PM
As has been necessary since the beginning of June, any volatility we experience during the day is forced to occur within 'the range.' That was the ca...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 3:42 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly lower
today, but did not move much from yesterday's latest levels. Some
lenders are even in slightly higher terri...
Tue, Jun 24 2014, 1:25 PM
RealtyTrac reports a very large increase
in the median price of a home sold in the U.S. in May compared to the median
price in April. There was a...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 12:28 PM
MBS have managed to hold on to most of their gains seen on Friday, even after Existing Home Sales came in stronger than expected. Prices were highe...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 11:20 AM
There were some healthy signals from the
existing home market in May, as sales rose strongly and price growth
moderated. The National Association...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 9:41 AM
"On
Thursday, June 19, issues of latency and connectivity were reported by
the public across multiple Internet Service Providers. The public can
...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 7:39 AM
One of the biggest stories of the past 3 months has been the big miss in first quarter GDP followed by a big downward revision leaving growth at -1.0%...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 5:48 PM
Behind the scenes, bond market activity was very light today--not uncommon for Mondays and most Friday's during the summer months. In the morning, th...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 5:04 PM
Mortgage rates were slightly lower
this morning, but moved higher in the afternoon, ultimately matching
Friday's latest offerings. Despite som...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 3:24 PM
Almost one year ago Mark Palim, Fannie
Mae's Vice President of Applied Economic and Housing Research, analyzed what impact rising
rates might hav...
Mon, Jun 23 2014, 1:50 PM
Home price are again approaching the high point they
reached in 2006, before the bottom fell out of the housing market. Black Knight in its Home P...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 12:35 PM
The balance
between loans originated for purchase and for refinancing shifted further
toward the purchase side in May according to the Ellie Mae ...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 12:23 PM
First thing's first. "Boring" isn't necessarily bad when rates are staying fairly close to their lowest levels in a year. That said, could the pas...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 11:31 AM
As we noted last week the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Reserve have scheduled a series
of web seminars on implementat...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 9:45 AM
"Affordability remains a hotly debated topic, especially when
considering both rent affordability and mortgage affordability," or
so says Zillow. ...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 7:42 AM
As bond markets continue to trade in the longest, narrowest sideways trend of the year (2.57-2.66 closing yields since 6/3), and as they continue to d...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 5:19 PM
Look up into any window of the closest apartment building and odds
are you'll see someone living there. National apartment occupancy in May
soared...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 5:03 PM
"The Range" can vary depending on whether we're talking about long or short term. These days, it refers to the a bit of both. The short term range s...
Fri, Jun 20 2014, 3:38 PM
Mortgage rates moved modestly lower again today.
While that leaves them a bit higher than the best rates of this year,
it enables an important...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 12:53 PM
Bond markets began the day in stronger territory as the overnight session brought a small amount of post-FOMC follow-through. Realistically, when an ...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 11:51 AM
As
a rule, it isn't good when economists use words like "sluggish" and "lackluster,"
the very terms that crept into the opening paragraph of Fredd...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 10:26 AM
"My
friend has a lifesaving tool in her car which is designed to cut
through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the car trunk."
So...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 7:43 AM
Today's economic data--like many other days in the history of financial markets-- COULD certainly matter. Whether or not it does, depends on where i...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 5:10 PM
Mortgage rates moved very slightly lower
today depending on the lender. Some lenders had passed along fairly
aggressive improvements with mid-...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 5:10 PM
Morning trading was a linear and logical continuation of yesterday's rally. That's not to say bond markets were obviously destined to rally yesterday...
Thu, Jun 19 2014, 2:37 PM
A housing industry that remains
focused on originating safe primary mortgages may be overlooking a new purchase
money niche "ready for the tapping...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 12:29 PM
Information
from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) on Tuesday echoing the
trend if not the absolute numbers of data released last we...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 12:16 PM
SunTrust Mortgage, has agreed to pay a total of nearly $1 billion to settle
various complaints alleging abuses in mortgage origination, servicing, ...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 11:57 AM
The morning has been exceedingly quiet so far, with no volatility to speak of. MBS and Treasuries were both approaching the weakest edge of their r...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 11:36 AM
Merlin
Pearson writes, "Statistics are like a lamp post to a drunk. They are
used far more for support than they are for illumination." A survey b...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 9:00 AM
There was a significant drop in mortgage applications, especially for
refinancing, during the week ended June 13 the Mortgage Bankers Association
...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 7:48 AM
Every other Fed meeting, we get the full meal deal of FOMC related events, which include the economic projections and the Fed Chair press conference i...
Wed, Jun 18 2014, 5:23 PM
Yesterday's CPI data gave bond markets cold feet heading into today's FOMC Announcement. As we discussed, the selling pressure yesterday wasn't the t...
