Thu, Sep 12 2013, 2:38 PM
The Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA) said that applications for mortgages to purchase new homes
dropped 14 percent in August to a seasonally adj...
Thu, Sep 12 2013, 1:22 PM
Treasuries were stronger overnight as Asian accounts kicked off the
session piling in to the same post Verizon/10yr Auction positivity seen
during...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 12:04 PM
The MBA numbers this morning confirmed that business is slowing even
more. Lock desks knew it but the MBA confirmed it: the Mortgage Bankers
Assoc...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 9:05 AM
The rally in
refinancing reported last week by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) was
short lived. Rates rose again during the
week ended Sept...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 6:46 AM
Even with backs already up against a wall, bond markets still managed
to find a way to be weaker on Tuesday. Perhaps this means we need to
adjust...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 5:30 PM
Mortgage rates changed course yet again, this
time heading back down after yesterday's rise ended a reasonably strong
2-day move lower. Today...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 5:21 PM
The credit crunch, the financial
collapse, and the ensuing deep recession will likely stand as the most
significant financial events of our generati...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 5:15 PM
MBS began the day roughly in line with yesterday's latest post-roll
levels (meaning October's 30yr Fixed Fannie/Freddie MBS opened today
where the...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 2:16 PM
Despite a lawsuit and threats from the
securities industry and the federal government to cut off its credit, the City
Council in Richmond, Californi...
Wed, Sep 11 2013, 1:13 PM
The 10yr Auction just came in much stronger than expected. Bond
markets had been volatile ahead of time as the massive Verizon corporate
bond off...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 12:56 PM
Bond markets began the day in weaker territory with a number of
factors eligible for blame. Overnight data was stronger in China and
Europe.n Te...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 10:34 AM
Several fair housing and civil rights
groups have come to the side of the City of Richmond, California as it attempts
to use its power of eminent do...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 10:30 AM
Last month this commentary mentioned the possibility of a maximum
loan amount reduction by the agencies. It has now become mainstream news
- a poo...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 7:46 PM
HUD is struggling to make the grade, regardless of potentially valid
excuses. That's the short version. The longer version in today's
testimony ...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 6:56 PM
Mortgage rates bounced back toward recent highs today, ending
a fairly healthy two-day move lower after last Thursday saw the highest
rates in...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 6:43 AM
Tuesday sees the inception of both the Treasury Auction cycle and the
MBS Settlement cycle for the week and month. For MBS, this merely
means tha...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 5:25 PM
At this point in the day, it looks like MBS will be able to make it
to the exits with sustaining any major damage on top of that which was
already...
Tue, Sep 10 2013, 1:19 PM
While they don't agree on the numbers or use the same timeframes, the
two reports on underwater mortgages released in the last week do conclude that
...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 12:15 PM
Treasuries were strong and steady overnight, building the sense
that Friday afternoon's weakness was more a factor of investors pulling
up stake f...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 10:39 AM
Fannie Mae said today that results of
its monthly National Housing Survey shows that Americans are aware of and
following trends in the housing ma...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 10:28 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
reported the first drop in its new Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) since
it became publicly avail...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 10:08 AM
We're all watching the residential lending industry change, although
in Saturday's commentary I noted several bank mergers from recent weeks.
Whet...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 6:37 AM
After Friday's Employment Situation Report posed just as many questions as it cleared up, we now move on to the countdown for the next watershed even...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 5:06 PM
Mortgage rates continued lower today, further
undoing much of the damage caused by last week's run to the highest
levels in over 2 years. Fri...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 4:25 PM
There's very little to observe and even less to conclude about the day
of MBS trading so far. Fannie 4.0s have held within 2 ticks of 102-24
sinc...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 1:32 PM
A senior Freddie Mac executive
suggested today that policymakers consider his company's model for securitizing
multifamily loans as they grapple wit...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 1:22 PM
The list of improving housing markets
maintained by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First
American Title Insurance Company appe...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 11:39 AM
If you've ever willingly sought and and enjoyed vanilla ice cream,
then you're already familiar with the flavor of today's bond market
rally. The...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 9:04 AM
"Are LOs liable for their comp plans?" Yes they are. This commentary discussed this topic over a month ago, yet I still hear stories about a company ...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 7:35 AM
Today we will receive long-awaited data that does more than anything
else to confirm or reject the notion of September tapering than anything
else...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 6:33 PM
Mortgage rates fell appreciably today, erasing
most of yesterday's move higher. On most any other day, this would be
welcome development, but...
Fri, Sep 6 2013, 5:25 PM
Treasuries and MBS were coming off a rough day heading into this
morning's Employment Situation Report. 10yr yields hit their highest
levels and ...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 12:56 PM
Another city has flirted briefly with
the idea of using eminent domain as a tool to help resolve a severe housing
crisis. The North Las Vegas, Ne...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 12:37 PM
This risk that today's session would bring a pre-NFP "lead off" in
the event of stronger data is coming to nauseating fruition before our
eyes. 1...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 10:41 AM
Almost a quarter of U.S. homeowners with
a mortgage are still underwater after the rapid plunge of house prices that
started in 2007, however more...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 10:16 AM
On Saturday we'll have an exciting anniversary: on 9/7/08 Treasury
Secretary Hank Paulson announced a plan where the government took
control of Fa...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 8:02 PM
There's little left to say about today that hasn't already been said in the earlier MBS MID-DAY .
As that post notes, seeing bond markets take a "l...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 7:49 AM
Since the methodology change, 7 out of 9 reports have accurately
predicted the direction of movement in the official private payrolls
tally from...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 6:40 PM
Mortgage rates leaped to new 2-Yr highs today ,
after strong economic data increased the chances that tomorrow's
all-important jobs report woul...
Thu, Sep 5 2013, 2:54 PM
Across the country, investors are
taking advantage of the nation's foreclosure crisis to purchase homes at
bargain prices, often beating out potent...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 12:06 PM
A new groups billing itself as an
AARP for homeowners has announced it is accepting members. The group, America's Homeowner Alliance , says
its ai...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 12:02 PM
Overnight markets were relatively uneventful with moderate weakness for
Treasuries during Asian hours and a slight recovery during European
hours....
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 10:59 AM
New guidance effecting the Federal
Housing Administration's (FHA's) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)
program, often referred to as reverse mo...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 10:15 AM
I know it is already Wednesday, but here is something labeled " The Monday Map "
which shows some interesting trends in personal incomes among the
...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 8:45 AM
After weeks of declining numbers, slightly lower
interest rates apparently spurred a modest bounce in applications for mortgage refinancing. The M...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 6:38 AM
Typically, the Wednesday before an NFP Friday would bring ADP Private
Payrolls at 8:15am, but due to the holiday-shortened week, ADP will now
arri...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 5:13 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher again today ,
making it one of the three worst days of the year for rates. The rate
with the most efficient combin...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 4:49 PM
A recent entry in the NY Fed's Liberty Street Economics blog makes a
compelling case for the role of Consumer Confidence in forecasting labor
mark...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 4:32 PM
Focusing too closely on the events and market movements of this
single session could make for challenging and unsatisfying analysis.
Instead, if ...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 3:30 PM
Builders are encountering a shortage of
buildable lots the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said today; a lack
of lots that is particu...