Thu, Dec 27 2012, 9:57 AM
Okay, so here's something entirely un-mortgage related - productivity
this week stinks anyway. The kids are back from college, or on vacation from
s...
Thu, Dec 27 2012, 7:59 AM
Thursday is indeed the first day of the week as it's the first
day where politicians will be back in action, potentially churning out
last-minute...
Thu, Dec 27 2012, 4:19 PM
Treasuries put in a better performance than MBS today, thanks to the
"flight-to-safety" nature of this morning's rally. As expected,
economic dat...
Thu, Dec 27 2012, 2:30 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly lower on Thursday after markets received
their first Fiscal Cliff update of the week. Earlier this morning,
Senate ...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 12:57 PM
Mortgage
rates remained essentially unchanged this week as markets are
essentially still closed for the Christmas holiday. Technically,
fina...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 11:46 AM
Equities were one of the only places that bond markets were going to get
any sort of guidance today given the fact that economic data is
inconsequ...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 11:29 AM
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI)
released this morning outstripped analysts expectations with strong increases
in home prices over ...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 10:56 AM
Last week the commentary mentioned LO education for borrowers, but how about LO
education itself? I received some thoughtful notes on the subject.
...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 7:48 AM
After a day and a half off, markets return to a full session on
Wednesday, but only in the sense that markets are open all day. Beyond
the techni...
Wed, Dec 26 2012, 4:51 PM
Considering that the Thanksgiving holiday always begins with full market
closure on a Thursday, you can usually count on the juxtaposed Friday to
...
Mon, Dec 24 2012, 12:24 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly higher on Monday, though there were no material market movements driving the change. Lenders are erring on the side ...
Mon, Dec 24 2012, 11:23 AM
As-expected, it's been a silent morning for US trading and a surprisingly 'silent night' in Europe as well. There are no market movers, no instances o...
Mon, Dec 24 2012, 8:16 AM
If left to its own devices, the week ahead would be almost a complete non-issue, with little volume and inconsequential volatility due to 2-day Christ...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 11:36 AM
Risk markets tanked early in the overnight session (stocks and bond yields sharply lower) after news hit that the House didn't have enough support for...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 10:47 AM
Lender Processing Services has released
preliminary data from its monthly report on mortgage performance
statistics . Data for November was
deriv...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 10:33 AM
The good news is that we've survived. The bad news is that we're still
seemingly reliant upon politicians in Washington. But for the moment, go back
...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 8:59 AM
Whereas Thursday's session was characterized as a bit tricky due to the uncertain balance of importance between economic data and pervasive Fiscal C...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 4:19 PM
There was little reaction to this morning's economic data at 8:30am despite the fact that both reports were stronger-than expected. Consumer Sentimen...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 1:35 PM
The Office of
Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) reported today that 88.6 percent of the
mortgages serviced by selected national federal savings ...
Fri, Dec 21 2012, 1:26 PM
Mortgage rates fell moderately to end the week after the House of Representatives failed to pass a tax and spending bill aimed at averting Fiscal Clif...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 12:16 PM
This is the second part of an article summarizing the chapter on Mortgages from a Center for Responsible Lending (CRL)research paper titled The State...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 12:00 PM
U.S. house prices were up 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October and rose 5.6 percent from the level 12 months earli...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 11:48 AM
Similarities abound between Wednesday and Thursday across the market. In both cases, the overnight session began with a moderately positive tone for ...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 10:53 AM
Existing home
sales rose 5.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04
units compared to a rate of 4.76 units in October. ...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 10:36 AM
Well, here is some interesting news for taxpayers, as if we don't have
enough: Fannie & Freddie may have lost $3 billion due to LIBOR fixing by
ba...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 10:08 AM
Following reports yesterday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have lost over $3 billion in the LIBOR scandal, FHFA issued the following statement: ...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 7:14 AM
Thursday's session is a bit tricky . Any value over time can be charted, and the general tone/sentiment/optimism of the Fiscal Cliff debate is no ex...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 4:18 PM
A big haul of economic reports had little lasting impact on trading levels this morning, but the stronger Philly Fed Index at 10am was enough to sugge...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 3:17 PM
The share of
mortgages refinanced by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae through the Home Affordable
Refinancing Program (HARP) dropped to 18.5 percent in Oc...
Thu, Dec 20 2012, 1:33 PM
The market movements that underpin the day to day changes in mortgage rates generally conveyed a sense of uncertainty and waiting as the busiest m...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 12:10 PM
Today's trading has provided a bit of relief to yesterday's disconcerting run at technical boundaries. Even though past precedent suggests we may wel...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 11:04 AM
Permits for privately owned residential construction
increased by 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in November compared to
October. Acco...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 9:35 AM
Mortgage
applications fell during the week ended December 14 with both refinancing
and purchase applications slowing as rates rose. The Mortgage B...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 4:13 PM
On to something a little less fun. Uh oh. I can't weigh in on the
validity of this comment, but it comes from a reliable wholesale rep and if
true i...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 4:11 PM
The tone of the overnight session was serene and slightly positive for bond markets at first, but quickly became dicey as the pre-market domestic crow...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 2:55 PM
The tone of Fiscal Cliff news shifted from comprommisory back to combative today, helping Mortgage rates recover from Tuesday's multi-month highs ....
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 2:15 PM
The authors of a study just released by the University of
North Carolina's Center for Community Capital suggest that the current condition
of the Fe...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 1:47 PM
The Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing on
Wednesday titled " Making Sense of Consumer Credit Reports ." Wi...
Wed, Dec 19 2012, 1:28 PM
Metrics of
loans originated through Ellie Mae's mortgage management software and network
were largely unchanged from earlier months according to its...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 12:17 PM
Builders of new single family homes
continue to grow more confident about the market for their product according to
the National Association of H...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 12:12 PM
Production MBS Prices are currently in line with a range of post-QE3 lows seen in late October and
traded to their lowest outright levels today sinc...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 11:39 AM
Low mortgage rates will continue to aid the housing and mortgage
markets in the New Year as the Federal Reserve continues to purchase $40
billion...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 8:55 PM
With the help of QE3, MBS have been able to construct an impressive, even if metaphorical castle over the past four months. This can be thought of as...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 7:46 AM
Last Wednesday, we characterized the impending FOMC-related events as "the best chance in almost a month
to see more than 5bps of movement in 10yr y...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 5:10 PM
Apparently fearful of another bail out,
six Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter
to the Obama Administration...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 4:40 PM
MBS and Treasury prices have been cliff-diving due to the Fiscal Cliff. This isn't because bond markets are worried about going over the Fiscal Cliff...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 3:47 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher at the quickest pace in weeks on Tuesday as politicians convey an increasing sense of compromise regarding Fiscal Cliff...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 3:44 PM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
has formed a task force to revisit its 2009 proposal for the future Freddie Mac
and Fannie Mae, the two gover...
Tue, Dec 18 2012, 2:02 PM
Human Resources (HR) managers take note: a court has ruled that an
employer may be liable for an accident to an employee during a work trip. But
for...
Mon, Dec 17 2012, 11:26 AM
Today's trading is kicking off the week in a mostly typical Monday sort
of way with ranges relatively contained, volume on the light side and
limi...
