Fri, Dec 17 2021, 6:45 PM
Sure, we could write a headline that attempts to distill the concept of a big picture struggle between the forces exerting upward pressure on rates an...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 3:50 PM
Mixed Performance Amid Light Liquidity and Fed Comments
The bond market shifted into a predictable gear for ...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 2:56 PM
Even as home prices rise into the stratosphere home flipping remains an active endeavor, accounting for just under 6 percent of all home sale transact...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 11:29 AM
3 hawkish central bank announcements on Wed/Thu have been no match for the bullish impulses at the end of the week. These include but are not limited...
Fri, Dec 17 2021, 10:38 AM
Are you afraid of the day that the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities? “Afraid” is too strong a word. (For many, this activity wo...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 4:55 PM
Bonds Defy Logic, Rallying Nicely After Central Banks Tighten
There are only so many ways to explain what ha...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:59 AM
Housing starts surged in November to the highest seasonally adjusted rate since March and the second highest in the last 12 months. The U.S. Census Bu...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:57 AM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reminding homeowners and mortgage servicers that their disaster relief options are in effect for those affected by...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:55 AM
I work hard to live a very glamorous life. I mention this because yesterday, when I sent the Commentary out from the road at a glamorous McDonalds in ...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 9:45 AM
If you're not familiar with Fezzik from The Princess Bride, you have more important things to do than read about what's going on in the bond market (b...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates were fairly flat heading into today's important Fed announcement. Despite arguably receiving bad news, they didn't move too much higher...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 4:22 PM
Surprisingly Resilient After Fed Doubles Tapering Pace
After implementing the tapering plan 6 short weeks ag...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 2:00 PM
The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum ...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 11:26 AM
By the time we finally arrive at a much-anticipated Fed day, there's not much to do in the morning hours apart from the proverbial "hurry up and wait....
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:42 AM
California has reinstituted its mask mandate. No one is interested in living in isolation again. Remember, “Your quarantine alcoholic name is your fir...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:37 AM
Builder confidence in the new home market is finishing 2021 strong despite what the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says are inflation co...
Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:35 AM
Mortgage application volume moved lower last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, f...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 4:10 PM
Calm Today. Bigger Volatility a Risk For Tomorrow
Treasuries began the domestic session in modestly weaker t...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 3:30 PM
Traditionally, financial markets have been interested in announcements from the Federal Reserve due to the Fed's policy rate (the Fed Funds Rate) and ...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 3:18 PM
The current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has been nominated to officially run the agency. The White House announced on Tuesda...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 12:42 PM
September marked additional improvement in loan performance nationwide. CoreLogic says the national delinquency rate, loans that were 30 or more days ...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 12:37 PM
No CEO wants to hear from their secretary, “The CFPB is holding for you on Line Two.” Lenders who have different prices in the same MSA? Don’t even tr...
Tue, Dec 14 2021, 9:14 AM
The week before last (the one where omicron resulted in faster-paced stock losses and bond gains) 10yr yields ran into some resistance on their journe...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 4:29 PM
Weekend News Cycle Hurts Stocks, Helps Bonds
Whether it's bothersome restrictions domestically or more emerg...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 3:58 PM
Mortgage rates have been fairly flat in the bigger picture, but each passing day continues to bring small scale movements. This is almost always the c...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 11:48 AM
Black Knight reports that rate locks, as measured by the company's Market Volume Index, declined 4.7 percent from October to November. Those for refin...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 11:31 AM
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. If you haven’t seen a video this one from a drone ) of the destruction in the South and Midwe...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 8:59 AM
The last 2 weeks have seen elevated volatility for the bond market. Omicron concerns took yields lower, but the gains reversed as concerns moderated....
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 5:37 PM
Financial market volatility increased noticeably after the emergence of the omicron variant. Last week, that proved to be good for rates and bad for s...
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 3:53 PM
What's Up With Today's MBS Volatility?
MBS prices suffered from two infrequent sources of volatility today. ...
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 12:08 PM
This week's economic data headliner was this morning's CPI report. It showed core inflation at 4.9% as expected. Had the number been 2bps higher or ...
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 10:50 AM
Access to jumbo mortgage credit continued to increase in November, but the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says it is still down significantly from...
Fri, Dec 10 2021, 10:46 AM
When the public sees headlines like, “A Black Couple had a White Friend Show Their Home and Its Appraisal Rose by Nearly Half a Million Dollars,” of c...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 4:08 PM
Refreshingly Resilient Despite Bumpy 30yr Auction
There have been a few flashes of resilience in the bond ma...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 2:52 PM
Mortgage rates stabilized yesterday after moving higher on the first 2 days of the week. They managed to improve modestly today despite some volatilit...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 11:14 AM
On Wednesday CoreLogic reported that prices in October were up 18 percent on an annual basis, the highest level in more than 45 years and identical to...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 11:08 AM
LIBOR has taken longer to exit the stage than Lawrence Olivier, but the final curtain call is coming for the index. The Consumer Financial Protection ...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 10:59 AM
Want to know who’s in trouble for what? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its Supervisory Highlights report yesterday, which “shi...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 10:01 AM
In yesterday's overnight session, European bonds were the key driver of US bond market weakness. Now in today's overnight session, they've had the op...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 4:16 PM
Losses Continue for Treasuries, But Not MBS
Treasury yields were set to start the day lower before upbeat om...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates stabilized today after spending the past 2 days moving modestly higher. In general, rates moved almost exclusively lower last week in r...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 11:38 AM
Black Knight's Mortgage Monitor for the month of October looks at current delinquency statistics and their potential downstream effects on inventory a...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 10:52 AM
The combination of lower rates and a post-holiday business week made mortgage application activity during the week ended December 3 more than a little...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 10:49 AM
“Dear Santa: This year I would like a) a slim body, and b) a fat bank account. Don’t mix them up like you did last year.” Ah, if only we could turn ba...
Wed, Dec 8 2021, 9:14 AM
If last week could be reduced to a single theme, it would be that of omicron concerns driving a bond rally and stock sell-off. This week's theme is o...
Tue, Dec 7 2021, 4:50 PM
The chief finding from Fannie Mae's November National Housing Survey (NHS) was an increase in consumer pessimism. The company says respondents to the ...
Tue, Dec 7 2021, 4:46 PM
While it is clear that the growth of home prices has started to slow, reports on the results of the deceleration are diverging . Earlier this week Bla...
Tue, Dec 7 2021, 4:41 PM
Bonds Remain Under Pressure, But MBS Outperformed
Bonds managed to remain sideways during AM hours. In fact...
Tue, Dec 7 2021, 3:39 PM
Mortgage rates moved higher again today thus keeping them well within the sideways range that's been in place for the past 2 months. Omicron-related n...
Tue, Dec 7 2021, 11:17 AM
Today I head to San Diego for a California MBA board meeting, the home base of the Pacific Fleet. It’s been 80 years since Pearl Harbor, a “date that ...
