Wed, Sep 15 2021, 9:57 AM
Yesterday's most notable accomplishment for the bond market was the breakout of the prevailing consolidation range (aka "pennant," to use a technical ...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 7:04 PM
arlier this year, the FHFA and Treasury amended Treasury's preferred stock repurchase agreements (PSPAs) to put limits on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 4:13 PM
Bonds Rally After CPI Gives Fed The Week Off
Today's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was one of the only big tick...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 3:17 PM
Mortgage rates started the day modestly lower , but many lenders ended up offering mid-day improvements in response to market conditions. When it come...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 10:41 AM
When Miley Cyrus licks a hammer and dances around naked, it’s considered “art.” When I tried it, I got kicked out of Home Depot. Go figure. How is you...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 9:34 AM
Today's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was one of the only big ticket economic reports left before next week's Fed announcement, and perhaps the only one ...
Mon, Sep 13 2021, 4:20 PM
Quiet Summertime Monday Leaves Bonds Slightly Stronger
Treasuries have experienced more of the volatility in...
Mon, Sep 13 2021, 3:44 PM
Mortgage rates were fairly flat to start the new week. This leaves the average lender in the high 2% range for top tier conventional 30yr fixed scenar...
Mon, Sep 13 2021, 11:23 AM
On HGTV, people can flip a whole house in a month. Meanwhile, I’ve been “getting ready to vacuum” for a week now. There isn’t a lot of mirth in reside...
Mon, Sep 13 2021, 10:06 AM
There is a smattering of data in the week ahead with Tuesday's CPI and Thursday's Retail Sales reports being the headliners. Data is merely a "potent...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 7:51 PM
Rates are dictated by the bond market and bonds are flashing a warning sign about volatility on the horizon. In other words, rates look like they're r...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 4:00 PM
Bond Weakness Reinforces The Consolidation Pattern
Bonds were weaker overnight and the selling trend continu...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 3:25 PM
With interest rates expected to rise and most homeowners who could benefit from refinancing having done so, mortgage bankers are not expecting the som...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 2:17 PM
The other shoe didn't drop last month, but maybe the laces did start to unravel. ATTOM reports that, within a month after the government's pandemic-re...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 11:11 AM
Thank you to Virginia’s Marc A. who, after reading my comment about companies keeping customers on hold due to “higher-than-normal call volume,” sent ...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 11:06 AM
There was a huge reduction in the number of borrowers in COVID-19 related forbearance plans over the last week as servicers plowed through the remaini...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 9:26 AM
Bonds are starting the day in moderately weaker territory. In so doing, 10yr yields are rejecting the opportunity to break below the 1.30% technical ...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 3:59 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower again today, with many lenders making it back to the levels seen after last Friday's jobs report. In week-over-week terms, ...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 3:54 PM
Higher interest rates pushed refinancing lower in August and lenders moved to generate more origination activity. That, in part, led to an increase in...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 3:52 PM
American homeowners got $20,000 richer in the second quarter just sitting in their family room. Black Knight’s newest Mortgage Monitor says that was t...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 3:38 PM
Strong Auction Trifecta Helps Bonds Hold The Range
The day began with a relatively bond-friendly European Ce...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 11:28 AM
The GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will be required to submit Equitable Housing Finance Plans to their regulator the Federal Housing Finance Agency...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 11:18 AM
I don’t think I’ve ever made a call, in recent years, to any number that wasn’t “experiencing high call volumes…” Owners of lenders are certainly fiel...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 10:50 AM
The European Central Bank (ECB) was widely expected to do "something" to tighten up its PEPP (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program) in today's policy a...
Wed, Sep 8 2021, 4:02 PM
Mortgage rates moved lower today after starting the week by jumping noticeably higher yesterday. Today's gains came courtesy of global growth concerns...
Wed, Sep 8 2021, 3:44 PM
10yr Auction Easily Helps Rates Hold The Range. What Next?
Today's 10yr auction was exceptionally strong. ...
Wed, Sep 8 2021, 11:21 AM
If you wait long enough to cook dinner, everyone will eat cereal. Follow me for more recipes! It’s a good time to be long real estate, and one recipe ...
Wed, Sep 8 2021, 9:50 AM
Yesterday marked the weakest weekly opener in several months as bonds built on negative momentum following last week's jobs report and positioned them...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 3:50 PM
3 Times in a Row: Auction Week Bringing The Weakness
Bonds have been consolidating in roughly a 17bp range c...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 2:43 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly highe r to begin the holiday-shortened week. With Labor day being a bank holiday, mortgage lenders were closed yesterday...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 2:42 PM
Consumers felt a little better about the wisdom of buying a home last month than they did in July, although that isn't saying a lot. Fannie Mae says 3...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:15 AM
Americans are continuing the trend started at the beginning of the pandemic 19 months ago, seeking larger homes in areas with lower density and prices...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:13 AM
Yes, it’s Tuesday already. Good morning to everyone except my wife who, at 2AM, mid-dream, sat bolt upright in bed and terrifyingly shouted into the d...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 9:18 AM
After being closed for Labor Day yesterday, the bond market is noticeably weaker to start the new week. In the overnight session alone, yields rose e...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 4:26 PM
MBS Outperformance is Part of the Answer to Today's Riddle
When does an obviously weak jobs report result in...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:32 PM
Black Knight estimates that nearly 630,000 forbearance plans, more than one-third of those currently active, are slated for review this month. Of thos...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:27 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are running away with new home financing. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates that conventional loan...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:11 PM
“It was the third of September that day I’ll always remember … Papa was a rolling stone… Wherever he laid his hat was his home. And when he died, all ...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 11:23 AM
Nonfarm Payrolls came in at 235k versus a median forecast of 728k. Poll a hundred market strategists about the likely market impact and 99 of them wo...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 4:05 PM
Particularly Calm Before a Particularly Important NFP
The widest trading range of the week has been 4.5bps (...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 2:51 PM
Mortgage rates are based primarily on bonds. Bonds take cues from economic data (among other things). And tomorrow's big jobs report is the most consi...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 2:49 PM
The U.S. Census Bureau says July's expenditures on all types of construction was at a seasonally adjusted rate of $1.569 trillion compared to $1.563 t...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 11:27 AM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a series of actions aimed at assisting in the Biden Administrations goal of creati...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 11:07 AM
“Yeah, I think I’ll put up some plywood and buy some water and just wait out this supposed hurricane. Those scientist/weather people are just exaggera...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 10:10 AM
Ah, the Thursday before a Friday jobs report--much like a Forest Gump box of chocolates. They're typically fairly boring with movement that tends to ...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 5:07 PM
Much like yesterday, mortgage rates were unchanged to slightly higher , depending on the lender. And once again, the differences in pricing strategies...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 5:06 PM
Bonds Waiting For More Relevant Inspiration
Today's ADP employment data missed the mark by quite a bit. If ...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:12 AM
Overheard recently: “I just want a man who will make me laugh as we count his family’s money on his rock-hard abs.” Lenders are doing okay, money-wise...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:05 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 8.4 percent in July compared to a 12.9 percent gai...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:04 AM
Mortgage application volume declined again last week , dragged down by flagging refinance activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its Ma...
