Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:31 PM
Refinance demand continues to bolster the mortgage market as purchases account for only 22% of new loan apps. Home buyers are utilizing the FHA for lo...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:09 PM
A new Fannie Mae website for borrowers provides anonymous and non-judgmental assistance for borrowers who are in difficulty with their mortgages. The...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 2:03 PM
There is always an opportunity to grow profits without taking on additional risks. Sometimes it makes sense to engage someone to help you identify th...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 11:35 AM
FHA Changes on the Horizon; Cross Selling Mortgages to Banking Clients; Failed MBS Trades; "Credit Repair" Fraud Case Settled;
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:37 AM
The WSJ published a story today implying the Federal Reserve was considering the idea of reinvesting MBS prepays back into new production TBA MBS. Rea...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:19 AM
The slow summer trade is in full effect ahead of what is setting up to be a directionally significant event this Friday: NonFarmPayrolls. If the Empl...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 5:53 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 2:57 PM
Two months after the tax credit expired, the national housing market is stagnate near record low levels of activity. Jobs were the issue before the ta...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 1:12 PM
The September FNCL 4.0 is +0-10 at 102-01 and the September FNCL 4.5 is +0-10 at 104-09. These are intraday highs. Some lenders may reprice for the be...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 10:52 AM
HVCC's Sun is Setting, Sort Of; Mega-Refinancing Rumors Dying Down; Loan Fraud Penalties;
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 9:31 AM
The Week Ahead: Employment Situation Report, Pending Home Sales, ISM, Treasury Auction Terms, Construction Spending, Personal Income & Outlays,
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 8:06 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 4:53 PM
Residential construction spending includes remodeling, additions, and major replacements to owner occupied properties subsequent to completion of orig...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 3:44 PM
Governments are cutting education funding, emergency budgets, police overtime, parks and recreation allocations, fire fighter training, etc, etc, etc....
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 3:32 PM
If you're a loan officer, I think the best advice I can offer is: Lock after you've gotten the file far enough to foresee an underwriting decision and...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 12:23 PM
The dormant USDA Section 502 rural housing program was revived by Congress yesterday and a House committee approved a bill to encourage owners of HUD ...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 11:10 AM
Rate sheet influential mortgage-backs are experiencing some localized weakness/relief. Nominally, spreads have been wider all morning but price level...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 11:05 AM
After visiting over 100 shops in the past 3 years, we haven't really seen anything “new under the sun” in terms of loan officer agreements. Sometimes ...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 9:35 AM
Rapid Refinance Program:Don't Bet On It; Mortgage Insurers Extend Losing Streak; More Discussion on Investor Overlays
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 8:29 AM
A busy day awaits the markets as investors get their first look at second-quarter GDP. Also in the store is the influential Chicago Business Barometer...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 4:44 PM
ALERT: There are some lenders out there, if the APP--to-->CLOSING process is flawless, where a borrower could close at 4.25% right now, without paying...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:31 PM
The Administration has begun to telegraph its intentions to move forward with reforms of the housing finance system. A conference will be held next m...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:06 PM
I recently spoke on two interesting panels at the American Conference Institute’s two day symposium on Reverse Mortgages. The conference attracted a ...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 9:51 AM
Final Ruling Issued on SAFE Act; Underwriting Guideline Overlays, Adverse Market Fees and Steep LLPAs; CMBS Sales; California State of Emergency;
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 9:33 AM
The Census Department released its survey of Residential Vacancies and Homeownership for the second quarter of 2010 which indicated that vacancies of ...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 8:30 AM
Equity futures are trading higher this morning despite word from Moody’s that it would have to question America’s triple-A credit rating unless it pr...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 1:09 PM
I hinted at this observation this morning but I will expand. The last time 10s broke through 3.00%...it was during an auction week. It just so happene...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:44 AM
Front-month TBA levels set yet another new record high this morning and yield spreads continued to tighten vs. benchmarks. While the street more than ...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:25 AM
Home Builder Rankings; Updates from HUD and Fannie; Home Ownership Stats; FHA Sanctions;
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 9:25 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 23, 2010. Mortgage loan applic...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 8:26 AM
The September Delivery FNCL 4.0 is +0-03 at 101-15. The FNCL 4.5 is +0-03 at 103-25. The secondary market current coupon is 1.2bps lower at 3.747%. Yi...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 4:16 PM
I suppose the first step of this scenario coming true is the "double-dip". Some folks say the deflationary spiral has already taken hold, others say w...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 3:33 PM
We all know the mortgage business can be extremely profitable at times. We also know it can be disastrous at other times. Regulators and law makers h...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 3:18 PM
HUD and FHA opened a public comment period on Thursday on another series of changes to underwriting guidelines, including the reduction of seller conc...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 2:24 PM
Nearly all Districts reported sluggish housing markets in the months since the homebuyer tax credit expired on April 30. While some Districts, such as...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 10:26 AM
Housing’s image certainly is as battered as it’s ever been. Responsibility for this last recession is rightfully borne by a mortgage market on steroid...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 9:07 AM
US MAY HOME PRICES IN 20 METRO AREAS RISE 0.5 PCT SEASONALLY ADJ (CONSENSUS 0.2 PCT) VS 0.6 PCT IN APRIL - S&P/CASE-SHILLER
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 8:41 AM
The S&P broke key resistance yesterday, this morning those advances are being extended and interest rates are trending higher.
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 7:08 PM
Stocks rallied after S&P/Case-Shiller data, but sold off after Consumer Confidence flashed. This created a bit more volatility in the bond market. Bot...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 1:51 PM
The only reason I'm not saying this auction was terrible is because yields were so low prior to the issue that it likely kept some accounts on the sid...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 1:47 PM
FHA has published the names of over 1,000 lenders who have been sanctioned over the past months. Penalties include temporary or permanent suspension f...
Tue, Jul 27 2010, 1:31 PM
Buyback Risk Locks Some Borrowers Out of Refi Market; Jawboning on Fannie and Freddie; Anecdotes from the Trenches; Correction on HARP; Treasuries vs....
Mon, Jul 26 2010, 11:53 AM
The last time S&Ps moved over 1,100, the 10 year note touched 3.12%, but that was right before the Treasury auctioned debt supply in the long end of t...
Mon, Jul 26 2010, 10:03 AM
New Home Sales in June rebounded from historic lows in May. Attention should be given to the fact that May survey data was revised from 300,000 new ho...
Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:56 AM
Lots of Investor Updates; Fannie HARP vs. Freddie HARP; Originator Rankings: Wells, BoA, Chase, GMAC, Citi...
Mon, Jul 26 2010, 8:45 AM
Ahead of Friday’s look at second-quarter GDP, economists at BMO Capital Markets noted that earnings results have been mostly positive so far. “Even if...
Mon, Jul 26 2010, 4:42 PM
When asked "What Will Move Mortgage Rates in the Week Ahead?", our answer is NOTHING! That is unless the herd of investors who've parked their money i...
Fri, Jul 23 2010, 12:00 PM
These "stress tests" are just an exercise in improving confidence. The results are hypothetical and don't prove or disprove anything. If we were to ge...
Fri, Jul 23 2010, 10:54 AM
Investor Group Challenges Loan Servicers; Loss Mitigation Recommendations; What is "WillCap" and Who is "Talcott Franklin"?; EU Bank Stress Tests
Fri, Jul 23 2010, 9:03 AM
No significant data is released in the US, but the European Central Bank will release the results of bank stress tests. A survey of 376 investors and ...