Fri, Sep 9 2022, 12:21 PM
Bonds had a respectable overnight session with steady gains seen mostly during European hours. Then in the early part of the domestic session, it was...
Fri, Sep 9 2022, 9:48 AM
Whether it is independent mortgage banks or companies with the largest market caps in the world, new products are being developed and rolled out to he...
Thu, Sep 8 2022, 5:15 PM
It was an interesting day for mortgage rates due to the timing of movement in the underlying bond market. Bond prices/yields are the primary ingredie...
Thu, Sep 8 2022, 4:43 PM
Bonds Close Weaker After Early Volatility and Late-Day Illiquidity
As has been the case for so many afternoo...
Thu, Sep 8 2022, 11:36 AM
Fairly simple morning so far: the European Central Bank (ECB) hiked its policy rate by the expected 75bps. There wasn't much of a reaction to that. ...
Thu, Sep 8 2022, 9:57 AM
California is currently going through a heat wave (Sacramento set a temperature record on Tuesday at 116°), taxing the state's power grid as energy de...
Wed, Sep 7 2022, 5:32 PM
Mortgage rates spiked quickly to open the holiday-shortened week with the average 30yr fixed rate coming very close to the 14-year high seen on June 1...
Wed, Sep 7 2022, 4:49 PM
Nice Push Back Against Tuesday's Weakness. ECB On Deck
Tuesday was brutal and the only real explanation for...
Wed, Sep 7 2022, 11:56 AM
Corporate bond issuance is one of those slightly esoteric concepts to the average rate watcher and usually a completely foreign concept to the average...
Wed, Sep 7 2022, 9:50 AM
The mortgage industry has come a long way from March of 2020, when the Federal Reserve pledged to buy “unlimited” amounts of Treasuries and MBS to sta...
Wed, Sep 7 2022, 9:45 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says the pace of mortgage applications slowed for a fourth consecutive time during the week ended September 2...
Tue, Sep 6 2022, 4:57 PM
As we discussed last week, there is unprecedented volatility in mortgage rates at the moment. It's not that we're seeing record setting swings from d...
Tue, Sep 6 2022, 4:27 PM
Steady Afternoon Leaves Steep AM Losses Intact
Today's recap could just as easily be this morning's commenta...
Tue, Sep 6 2022, 10:53 AM
Summertime seasonality is one of the worst kept secrets among bond forecasters. Simply put, since 2010, this is only the 3rd year where yields haven'...
Tue, Sep 6 2022, 10:26 AM
Now that we have passed the unofficial end of summer, am I allowed or not allowed to wear white on Zoom calls before 2023’s Memorial Day? Maybe darker...
Fri, Sep 2 2022, 5:40 PM
Why Stronger Jobs Data Gave Way to a Rate Rally
Anything over 300k is big number for nonfarm payrolls. Toda...
Fri, Sep 2 2022, 5:16 PM
It's a tremendously important and volatile time for the market and especially for interest rates. The biggest inflation surge in decades pushed rates...
Fri, Sep 2 2022, 11:05 AM
For weeks on end, it's been "sell first and ask questions later" for the bond market. Any econ data that's been at least halfway decent has been at r...
Fri, Sep 2 2022, 10:29 AM
We have witnessed a change in our work environment. From the Central Coast of California, Jeff O. sent, “Yesterday I had convened a zoom meeting of ma...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 4:40 PM
Where We Are, Where We Might Be Going, And How We Might Get There
The first day of September found a way to ...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 3:12 PM
As recently as late July, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility to see certain lenders quoting conventional 30yr fixed mortgage rates in the high...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 10:36 AM
Imagine hosting a cocktail party with guests arriving and departing at random times. A particularly rowdy and unpleasant guest--let's call them "Augu...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 10:07 AM
Tony H. writes, “I just switched my 30-year home mortgage to ‘student loan.’ Follow me for more financial advice.” I have been fielding questions abou...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 4:44 PM
The last day of August was also the worst day for rates in August. In fact, it was the worse than any of July as well and not too terribly far from t...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 4:28 PM
So Long August. Don't Let The Door Hit Ya!
July! We miss you!
August, please leave!
Hopefully Septemb...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 12:15 PM
If you've been surprised by the extent to which US bonds have been hit by European inflation reports in the past month, you're not alone. Granted, th...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 10:49 AM
My cat Myrtle has a certain amount of “girth,” as they say. But I tell her that she carries it well as the calories from line-caught halibut have far ...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 10:11 AM
The volume of mortgage applications fell again last week, dragged lower by refinancing which had its largest week-over-week decline since mid-May. The...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 5:08 PM
Mortgage rates are driven by the bond market, and bond traders have a lot on their minds these days. After trading rates up to the highest levels in ...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 4:30 PM
Sideways Afternoon After Volatile Morning
"Hypervigilant volatility." Get used to seeing that new phrase as...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 2:30 PM
Today brings the release of June's home price indices from both the FHFA (the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie, the entities that guarantee ...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 10:57 AM
Hypervigilant volatility in response to data and policy comments is the order of the day/week/month as traders assume central bankers are more impress...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 9:54 AM
Nature “always bats last.” Terrible flooding in Pakistan, flooding in Mississippi impacting its drinking water supplies. Severe temperatures in China,...
Mon, Aug 29 2022, 4:22 PM
Mortgage rates managed to breathe a decent sigh of relief last Friday as the bond market remained fairly calm despite stock market weakness following ...
Mon, Aug 29 2022, 4:12 PM
Jackson Hole Follow-Through or Something Else?
Last Friday's Jackson Hole speech was the subject of a fair a...
Mon, Aug 29 2022, 12:52 PM
While there certainly wasn't anything surprising in last Friday's Jackson Hole speech from Fed Chair Powell, much of the market seems to have been sur...
Mon, Aug 29 2022, 10:43 AM
Remember a few years ago when lender’s IT departments were thinking that blockchain was the answer to… whatever problem they thought it would answer? ...
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 5:04 PM
How Did Powell Bring The Pain With As-Expected Remarks?
This morning, we said the bond market appropriately ...
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 4:34 PM
While it was never likely to contain too many surprises, this week's much-anticipated Jackson Hole speech from Fed Chair Powell served as an important...
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 11:04 AM
Powell's Jackson Hole speech may as well have been written in advance by anyone who's done a remotely good job of paying attention to recent Fed comme...
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 10:03 AM
Abraham Lincoln famously stated, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” There are always rumors out there. The latest to cross my desk, ...
Thu, Aug 25 2022, 4:37 PM
It Doesn't Matter if Powell's Speech Matters
Some things will be yearned for, anticipated, and sought after ...
Thu, Aug 25 2022, 4:08 PM
Tomorrow morning brings a much anticipated appearance from Fed Chair Powell at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium. As is often the case leading up to ...
Thu, Aug 25 2022, 11:46 AM
Bonds were already trading fairly sideways in the overnight session and only experienced modest volatility after this morning's economic data. Unless...
Thu, Aug 25 2022, 10:14 AM
Nothing is simple or easy in this world. Take pine nuts. Simple, easy, right? Nope. A staple of pesto, and some salads and desserts, those in the Unit...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 5:11 PM
Right off the bat, it's worth mentioning that many mortgage quotes are already over 6% for a variety of reasons. But when it comes to the "going rate...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 4:24 PM
More Weakness. Is This All About The Fed?
Bonds began the day in slightly stronger shape but began to sell ...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 11:20 AM
In last Thursday's Existing Home Sales press release, the NAR's chief economist said "we're witnessing a housing recession in terms of declining home ...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 10:46 AM
The unfriendly trend remains firmly intact this morning with 10yr yields up several more bps and MBS down another quarter point despite mixed economic...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 10:36 AM
Lenders continue to adapt, and LOs are adding value by being subject matter experts and marketing accordingly. (For example, today’s podcast features ...
