Wed, Jul 20 2022, 2:52 PM
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that June saw the 5th consecutive monthly decline in Existing Home Sales today. The annual pace o...
Wed, Jul 20 2022, 10:37 AM
“Having plans sounds like a good idea until you have to put on clothes and leave the house.” Capital markets teams have plans, and STRATMOR’s current ...
Wed, Jul 20 2022, 10:24 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said today that its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell again during th...
Wed, Jul 20 2022, 10:01 AM
On a week without much by way of domestic econ data and the biggest ticket market mover being Thursday's European Central Bank announcement, it's no s...
Tue, Jul 19 2022, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates are based primarily on the price of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which are essentially bonds consisting of numerous similar mortga...
Tue, Jul 19 2022, 12:58 PM
There were modest pullbacks in both the seasonally adjusted annual numbers of permits and housing starts in June. But it was only because of strong ga...
Tue, Jul 19 2022, 11:08 AM
If we were limited to only one observation about the bond market over the past few trading sessions, it would be that volume and volatility have been ...
Tue, Jul 19 2022, 10:53 AM
From Salt Lake City, Rich B. sends, “My mind is like an internet browser: 17 tabs are open, 4 of them are frozen, and I don’t know where the music is ...
Mon, Jul 18 2022, 4:42 PM
Weaker Despite Decent Mid-Day Bounce
Bonds began the week in weaker territory with yields pulled higher by E...
Mon, Jul 18 2022, 11:15 AM
This week's economic data is primarily focused on the housing market with NAHB, Housing Starts, and Existing Sales on the first 3 days respectively. ...
Mon, Jul 18 2022, 11:08 AM
Everyone is watching the value of their 401(k) plan go down. You should be watching it go down from “across the pond,” sitting at a sidewalk café in P...
Mon, Jul 18 2022, 10:58 AM
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) released it's Housing Market Index (HMI) for July this morning. This measure of builder confidence fel...
Fri, Jul 15 2022, 5:02 PM
It was a week for paradoxes on several fronts, most notably when mortgage rates moved lower just after the Fed floated the idea of an even bigger hike...
Fri, Jul 15 2022, 3:38 PM
Why Were Rates Able to Defy Stronger Data?
With at least one Fed speaker mentioning Retail Sales as having a...
Fri, Jul 15 2022, 12:10 PM
With at least one Fed speaker mentioning Retail Sales as having a bearing on the Fed's debate between a 75bp and 100bp hike at the upcoming July meeti...
Fri, Jul 15 2022, 11:32 AM
Dang these five-day work weeks seem long! My cat Myrtle doesn’t seem overly concerned with work, days or weeks, as long as that line-caught ocean salm...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 4:43 PM
A week ago today, we saw one of the most glaring examples of the popular Freddie Mac mortgage rate survey sending mixed signals to reporters and consu...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 4:23 PM
Nice Bounce Back After a Bumpy Morning
All in all, today's trading range fell inside yesterday's and this we...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 3:21 PM
The biggest issue with the two most widely followed home price indices (FHFA and Case Shiller) is that the underlying data is almost 2 months old by t...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 12:27 PM
In the bigger picture, longer-term yields are trading a narrow, sideways range this week with today's yields well inside yesterday's range and yesterd...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 10:27 AM
Real estate agents love it when loan officers give them referrals. That’s not always easy. Is giving a real estate agent a book on becoming a producti...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 3:40 PM
Ask anyone who knows a thing or two about how interest rates work and they'll tell you: inflation is the enemy! What caused the record high rates b...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 3:25 PM
Did Rates Just Realize They're Invincible?
Want to see an interest rate that isn't worried about going much ...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 11:59 AM
We knew CPI was the biggest potential market mover this week and it hasn't disappointed in that regard. It has also provided bonus entertainment in t...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 11:34 AM
Sue W. writes, “After I say, ‘That’s crazy’ twice, please wrap up your story.” There are a lot of stories out there now as residential lenders tighten...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 11:25 AM
Mortgage application activity declined last week, again due, partially at least, to a holiday shortened business week. The Mortgage Bankers Associatio...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 4:00 PM
Bonds Retreat After Auction. Here Comes CPI
Bonds began the day in a surprisingly strong stance and it didn'...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 2:43 PM
The first two days of the week have been fairly boring for mortgage rates relative to recent volatility. There's been a bit of friendly movement on b...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:39 AM
I mentioned yesterday that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math, but it doesn’t take a genius to do subtraction. 6 - .2 = 5.8, right? Wouldn’t you...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:30 AM
Bonds are starting the day in much stronger territory, and this raises a few interesting points and questions. First off, it's interesting to see a 2...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 5:25 PM
Mortgage rates moved sharply higher last week relative to where they ended the previous week. In the 3 weeks before that, rates fell at one of the fa...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 4:30 PM
Bonds Open to Suggestion Ahead of Inflation Data
After selling off fairly swiftly for most of last week, bon...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 12:27 PM
Heading into the new week early this morning, Treasuries refused to move any higher than Friday's highs and ultimately moved lower as they followed an...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 11:13 AM
Did you know that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math? I do too, as suggested by my capital markets background, but I know enough to understand t...
Fri, Jul 8 2022, 5:01 PM
Rates Defeated by Data. Another Big Fight Next Week
This week's recap is fairly straightforward. Rates were...
Fri, Jul 8 2022, 4:43 PM
Most of the following is an updated version of the same coverage from yesterday. Little changed today apart from the big jobs report pushing rates hi...
Fri, Jul 8 2022, 12:54 PM
This morning's nonfarm payroll count came in at 372k versus a 268k consensus. Unemployment and wages held steady (with a small +0.1% revision to last...
Fri, Jul 8 2022, 11:08 AM
Dang, is there any good news out there? Japanese ex-Prime Minister Abe was tragically assassinated. Rates stink, especially compare to 2020 and 2021, ...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 4:35 PM
Bond Bounce Continues Ahead of Jobs Report and Next Week's CPI
Apart from a brief breakout in mid-June, rate...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 3:46 PM
Without a shadow of a doubt, mortgage rates are noticeably higher today than they were yesterday. They were also noticeably higher yesterday compared...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 11:18 AM
Momentum indicators are staples of technical analysis for a reason. While the exact timing and magnitude of market movement will always defy accurate...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 10:42 AM
Many youngsters don’t know the “Shave and a haircut? Two bits!” knock, or musical notes. Some things are timeless, like British Prime Ministers coming...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 5:10 PM
Mortgage rates have been moving lower for the past 3 weeks after hitting the highest levels since 2008 in the middle of June. This was a larger-scale...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 4:31 PM
Sharp Losses Offer a Reminder About The Range
We first began to discuss the prevailing rate narrative on May...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 11:52 AM
The two-year explosion in home prices appears to be cooling a bit. Black Knight says annual appreciation was down in May for the second straight month...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 10:55 AM
“I'm a multitasker. I can listen, ignore, and forget all at the same time!” We won’t, however, soon forget this part of the business cycle. “Rob, than...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 10:48 AM
Mortgage application activities declined during the week ended July 1 after three straight weeks of improvement. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 10:41 AM
The 2nd half of the last 2 months has been good for the bond market, as long as you're willing to overlook the fact that both multi-week rallies requi...
Tue, Jul 5 2022, 4:14 PM
Mortgage rates hit 5.5% last Friday for the top tier conforming 30yr fixed scenario at the average lender. That was the lowest since June 8th, just...
Tue, Jul 5 2022, 3:36 PM
Strong Start Balanced by Potential Resistance
Bonds rallied early in the domestic session and again heading ...
