Wed, Oct 30 2013, 2:02 PM
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in
September generally suggests that economic activity has continued to
expand at...
Wed, Oct 30 2013, 1:44 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
issued a statement today urging the Senate to confirm a new director of the
Federal Housing Finance Agency (F...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 11:55 AM
For the second day, Fannie 3.5s are demonstrating an uncanny
ability to remain inside the the highs and lows established on Friday.
Given that th...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 10:59 AM
Both the
10-City and 20-City S&P-Case-Shiller Home Price Indices gained 1.3 percent
in August to values of 175.8 and 164.53 respectively. These i...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 9:44 AM
Of the 45 educational sessions here at the MBA conference, 87 of them
have to do with QM. (No, that is not a misprint.) If you have to ask
the per...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 7:33 AM
From the standpoint of trading levels, yesterday was meaningless.
Both Treasuries and MBS remained inside the ranges set by Friday's highs
and lo...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 4:28 PM
Today's bond market activity was similar to yesterday's in the
sense that prices and yields continue to trade in clearly-defined and
exceptionally...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 3:55 PM
Mortgage rates continued flying their recent holding pattern just over 4 percent.
Most lenders' rate sheets were essentially unchanged compare...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 3:03 PM
It didn't attract a lot of notice at the time, but a speech last Wednesday
by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray ap...
Tue, Oct 29 2013, 1:38 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) might
not have been smiling as it prepared the economic forecast for 2014 it handed
out today. The associatio...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 12:07 PM
Access to the credit needed to drive this economy
is being stifled by government decisions that are an overreaction to events of
five years ago, ...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 11:31 AM
Bond markets began the day in moderately weaker territory. Overnight
Treasuries remained in a narrow range but like MBS, moved to the day's
weake...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 10:16 AM
Contracts for home purchases declined
for the fourth consecutive month the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)
said today. NAR's Pending Home...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 9:34 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA
has released details about its portion of the $13 billion settlement with JP
Morgan Chase (JPM) announced l...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 9:09 AM
I probably use about 5% of
my fancy phone's capacities, and barely know how to get to e-mail, the
internet, and YouTube on my computer. But walkin...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 7:02 AM
Despite the fact that last week saw the return of the critically important
Employment Situation report, this will be the week where the majority
...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 4:55 PM
The most interesting thing about today was how extraordinarily quiet
it was. We would expect MBS space to be a relative ghost town with the
MBA c...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 4:00 PM
Mortgage rates stayed in line with
recent 4-month lows today. In some cases, there was a slight movement
in the closing costs associated with...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 3:19 PM
The acting
director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) discussed the future of
the government sponsored enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 1:35 PM
Home prices ticked up a modest 0.4 percent in August Lender
Processing Services (LPS) said today. The company's Home Price Index
(HPI) based on...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 12:12 PM
It's been another uneventful session so far with trading levels for MBS
and Treasuries both holding inside yesterday's ranges. Treasuries were
sl...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 10:28 AM
While not
directly acknowledging the protests that have come from both the public and
private sectors about his decision to unilaterally lower loan ...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 9:43 AM
The FHFA announced that Fannie/Freddie loan limits will not be reduced for at least six months
and any such reduction will occur after a six-month...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 4:36 PM
Mortgage rates held steady
yet again, ending their second week of significant improvement and
contributing to what may soon be the first 2-mon...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 4:26 PM
Today was a boring day in bond
markets. Volume was low. Trading ranges held inside previous days'
trading ranges. Benchmarks ended the week per...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 4:03 PM
While it seems counterintuitive, could higher home prices lead an increase
in home sales? Two Federal Reserve Bank
of San Francisco senior economis...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 1:32 PM
Savvy entrepreneurs or established organizations
have little to fear from the new qualified mortgage (QM) and Ability-to-Repay
(ATR) regulations abo...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 1:06 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association responded on Thursday to the re-proposed
Risk Retention rule submitted for comment by six regulatory agencies last
...
Fri, Oct 25 2013, 1:02 AM
Here's essentially where we're at... Bond markets came to a
crossroads on 9/18 and chose a friendlier path for those who enjoy
stable-to-higher b...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 12:34 PM
Builders
who remodel residential properties are seeing continued activity in their
segment of the homebuilding market the National Association of Ho...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 12:28 PM
Bond markets haven't had much to go on since Tuesday's jobs report
inspired a decisive move to the best levels in months. This morning was
no exc...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 10:57 AM
A federal grand jury found the former Countrywide
Financial and one of its executives guilty of mortgage fraud on Wednesday in a
whistle-blower gene...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 9:50 AM
There was a substantial increase in
September in the purchasing activity of what it called institutional investors
RealtyTrac said today. Persons...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 9:20 AM
With recent changes in QM/ATR rules along with intolerance for any
error which may impinge marketability or the ability to expeditiously
foreclose...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 6:53 AM
On some levels, yesterday's trading session could have been frustrating for
bond bulls (aka fans of lower rates) due to the late day sell-off. A ...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 5:19 PM
Today was another session where the movement is best characterized as
"incidental"--that is to say, bond markets didn't set out with any
salient g...
Thu, Oct 24 2013, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates held steady for the most part on Thursday, keeping them in line with 4 Month Lows (a milestone reached last Friday ).
There wer...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 12:38 PM
Home prices posted a 19 th
consecutive monthly gain in August the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
said on Wednesday. FHFA's purchase only Ho...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 12:29 PM
Treasuries rallied overnight in rather underwhelming fashion.
Volume was moderate and the trading range was fairly narrow.
Yesterday's weak NFP ...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 10:58 AM
The national foreclosure rate jumped over 4 percent in September Lender
Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) said today, but the foreclosure inventory
...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 10:11 AM
I am spending a couple days in Kansas before heading to North
Carolina, and around here the old saying goes, "The older the buck, the
stiffer the ...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 9:11 AM
The volume of mortgage applications received by
the nation's lenders was virtually unchanged during the week ended October 18
the Mortgage Bankers...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 7:08 AM
September 18th's FOMC Announcement set off warning bells about a
potential move lower for rates but such a move was always to be
dependent on Sept...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 4:57 PM
Mortgage rates fell again today,
but at a gentler pace than yesterday, bringing them to new 4-month
lows. With no meaningful economic data to...
Wed, Oct 23 2013, 4:30 PM
Since 8:40am yesterday morning, bond markets have been exceptionally
calm compared to past examples of decently sized moves following the
monthly ...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 12:42 PM
Today's Employment Situation Report--rescheduled from the original
October 4th release data--has been easily up to the task of inspiring a
break o...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 9:35 AM
I travel to a lot of engagements (this week is Los Angeles, Kansas,
and North Carolina, and then to DC for the conference) and am jealous of
my co...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 6:55 AM
Will absence have made the heart grow fonder when it comes to bond
markets' affections for the payrolls data? Yes, it already has. If
Treasuries...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 5:01 PM
In the post-meltdown era of hyper-regulation, lenders are
understandably
not eager to stick their necks out any further than necessary. Many in
...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 4:41 PM
Mortgage rates fell abruptly today,
after the long-awaited Employment Situation Report painted a
bleaker-than-expected picture for labor marke...
