Tue, Aug 3 2021, 5:15 PM
Inconsequential Trading Day With Some MBS Underperformance
Today was remarkably unremarkable. Volume and vo...
Tue, Aug 3 2021, 2:48 PM
Mortgage rates moved slightly lower again today--extending a steady string of improvements that began after last week's Fed announcement. The average ...
Tue, Aug 3 2021, 11:30 AM
There is always a lull in covid reporting over the weekend as several states no longer publish weekend data. Monday's counts are thus informative as ...
Tue, Aug 3 2021, 11:09 AM
As the industry digests Fannie Mae’s earnings announcement this morning with its $7.2 billion of net earnings in the second quarter of 2021, did you k...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 3:40 PM
Bonds Surge Into August Despite Headwinds
It was an interesting juxtaposition to see a Fed speaker talking a...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 1:41 PM
In its latest Mortgage Monitor, Black Knight analyzes the impact the elimination of the 50 basis point adverse market fee from the cost of Fannie Mae ...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 1:27 PM
June was yet another month when the only bright spot in the U.S. Census Bureau's construction spending report was provided by the residential sector. ...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 1:25 PM
With the federal moratorium on evictions expiring on July 31, it is becoming apparent that there is a real housing crisis looming. Not one like we saw...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 1:24 PM
The number of active forbearance plans jumped higher this week , increasing by a net of 31,000 loans. Black Knight says that, as of July 27, there wer...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 11:10 AM
Who predicted that we’d be at 1.22 percent on the 10-year yield to start August? And 30-year fixed-rate mortgages still chopping around in the high 2 ...
Mon, Aug 2 2021, 10:59 AM
Due to the presence of bigger ticket economic data (among other things), it was fair to expect more volatility in the current week compared to the pre...
Fri, Jul 30 2021, 4:12 PM
Strong, Calm Week. Next Week Might Be Different
Saying "next week might be different" is of questionable va...
Fri, Jul 30 2021, 11:23 AM
Yesterday I received this note from Tennessee. “Rob, thank you for the commentary, as always. Among several noteworthy items in yesterday’s, one thing...
Fri, Jul 30 2021, 11:00 AM
The sun also rises and inflation also misses its forecast! After several months of reasonably big upside surprises, core PCE inflation finally undersh...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 3:56 PM
Slightly Weaker Today, But Still In The Recent Range
Thursday proved to be a very forgettable session for th...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 2:50 PM
"Taper talk" refers to comments, speeches, or official policy communications from the Federal Reserve (aka "the Fed") that speak to the timing and nat...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 11:27 AM
The Board of Directors of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has released model state regulatory prudential standards for nonbank mortgag...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 11:24 AM
Pending home sales fell back slightly in June after a notable and unexpected 8.0 percent gain in May. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 11:12 AM
Mission Statements are so passe. We now have “long term vision statements.” For some, great literature consists of the Bible, or Moby . For others of ...
Thu, Jul 29 2021, 10:47 AM
With the Fed having confirmed their expected stance (closer to tapering, tolerant of short-term inflation, and plenty of pandemic-related uncertainty ...
Wed, Jul 28 2021, 4:34 PM
Fed Hints At Tapering, But Bonds Don't Care
Why are rates lower despite the Fed announcement taking another ...
Wed, Jul 28 2021, 2:01 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, Jul 28 2021, 11:07 AM
Refinancing continues to support mortgage application activity while purchase applications continued to weaken during the week ended July 23. The Mort...
Wed, Jul 28 2021, 11:06 AM
Like 8 other Wednesdays each year, today brings a healthy dose of volatility risk from the Fed Announcement and press conference (note: this is one of...
Wed, Jul 28 2021, 11:05 AM
I didn’t sign up for a 401k. I can’t run that far. Understanding numbers is important, as is accurately reporting them. For example, yesterday I mista...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 4:04 PM
Wednesday afternoon brings one of the year's 8 regularly scheduled policy updates from the Federal Reserve (aka, the Fed). While there's no question t...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 4:01 PM
Deceptively Interesting Trading Range Ahead of Fed
After a move up from 1.25 to nearly 1.30% on Monday, 10yr...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 1:01 PM
The U.S. Census Bureau says the nation's Homeownership Rate was at 65.4 percent in the second quarter of 2021. This is down from both the previous qua...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 12:57 PM
May set yet more records for price increases. Both the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index and the Federal Housing Finance Agenc...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 11:18 AM
With Simone Biles injury at the Olympics, let’s shift our attention to lending & housing. Have you ever asked someone, especially a politician, for th...
Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:17 AM
After having gained so much over the past 4 months (not to mention the removal of the adverse market fee), and with a Fed announcement due out tomorro...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 6:20 PM
t was a slow trading day for the most part until the last 90 minutes. Until then, MBS and Treasuries were generally flat. As the day wound down, yie...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 2:58 PM
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that there was a fourth consecutive year-over-year decline in the rate of investment in U.S. real ...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 12:42 PM
In May, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that the seasonally adjusted annual sales of newly constructed...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 12:37 PM
With the federal moratorium on mortgage foreclosures nearing an end, the White House has announced a series of steps to help homeowners who have suffe...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 12:32 PM
In the wake of a near 200,000 drop in the number of loans in forbearance earlier in July, changes over the last two weeks have been modest. Black Knig...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 11:17 AM
The headline this morning is seven people dying in a car crash caused by a Utah sandstorm. The damage caused by storms, including hurricanes in the Ea...
Mon, Jul 26 2021, 10:05 AM
Heading into the weekend, the delta variant continued driving a surge in U.S. covid case counts with Friday's 118k+ being the highest day-over-day inc...
Fri, Jul 23 2021, 3:19 PM
Ending on an Equivocal Note Ahead of Fed Week
If we look through the small-scale volatility throughout the w...
Fri, Jul 23 2021, 10:58 AM
How do you know when someone has too much money? How about when they pony up $16k for Tarzan’s 1932 loin cloth ? (“Gosh, if that loin cloth could talk...
Fri, Jul 23 2021, 10:26 AM
After a stellar Monday and a big reversal on Tuesday, Wednesday stands out as the week's big shift back toward last week's trading range. Today's ses...
Thu, Jul 22 2021, 4:03 PM
Bonds Remain Resilient With Help From ECB
This morning's ECB announcement proved to be moderately bond-frien...
Thu, Jul 22 2021, 3:12 PM
The national delinquency rate dropped by 7.62 percent in June and is now 42.39 percent below its rate at the worst of the pandemic. Black Knight, in i...
Thu, Jul 22 2021, 11:52 AM
Existing home sales snapped a four-month losing streak in June. Sales of pre-owned single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and cooperative apa...
Thu, Jul 22 2021, 11:26 AM
How would you like to compete against a company whose tagline is, “We Do It All, Guaranteed!”? The program is part of an existing Weichert Realtors’ o...
Thu, Jul 22 2021, 10:20 AM
This morning's ECB announcement proved to be moderately bond-friendly. Combined with weaker Jobless Claims data, it's been enough to keep bonds inside...
Wed, Jul 21 2021, 5:01 PM
Defensive Shift Ahead of ECB Announcement
Coming into the week, there was some speculation that Monday's bon...
Wed, Jul 21 2021, 11:42 AM
Experienced mortgage loan originators (MLOs) know that a rate lock is a rate lock. The removal of the adverse market fee of .5 for conventional confor...
Wed, Jul 21 2021, 10:02 AM
After a strong showing during the week ended July 9, mortgage application volume pulled back. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Market Composit...
Wed, Jul 21 2021, 9:23 AM
With a moderate dose of weakness in the overnight session, 10yr yields have quickly found themselves on the doorstep of 1.25%--a level that marked the...
