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...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:00 AM
The stated goal of the ADP Employment Report is to predict the final revision of the US government's non-farm payroll number. Assessing its efficacy ...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 4:56 PM
Mortgage rates were unchanged to slightly higher today, depending on the lender. The differences in pricing strategies stem from the timing of changes...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 4:21 PM
Weaker Data Offset by European Tapering Fears
Bonds improved after weaker economic data this morning. Trade...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 12:09 PM
Tuesday morning wasted no time in confirming the relevance of economic data to the current bond market environment. When Chicago PMI came out weaker ...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 11:09 AM
In a report released on Monday, CoreLogic recaps investor activity in the housing market over the last decade. Its Investor Homebuying Report highligh...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 11:05 AM
Annual price gains remained at a double-digit pace in June. Both The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 10:48 AM
I received some exciting news that I wanted to share with my readers. I received an invitation from a mortgage periodical to receive an award, if I pa...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 5:35 PM
Jackson Hole Follow Through Helps Bonds Hold The Range
Bonds were at the top of their recent range last Frid...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 4:27 PM
Mortgage rates drifted lower again today, with the average lender getting back down to the lowest levels since the first week of August. In a general ...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 12:22 PM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) have told their borrowers and mortgage servicers that they are offering immediate relief options to those a...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 11:31 AM
Last week's theme was simple: sell bonds until hearing what Fed Chair Powell had to say in his Jackson Hole speech, then buy bonds when Powell simply ...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 11:01 AM
The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association conference is in full swing. Folks tell me that servicing is a big topic in informal hallway discussions. MCT d...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 10:53 AM
While existing home sales have increased in the last two months after a four-month slump, those sales don't look especially bright as we head into the...
Fri, Aug 27 2021, 3:23 PM
Powell Sticks to Script. Bonds Like It
Fed Chair Powell's Jackson Hole speech has come and gone without caus...
Fri, Aug 27 2021, 10:53 AM
Last night, my wife asked me if I’d seen the dog bowl. I replied, “I didn’t know he could.” Words are important, and the press is spending plenty of t...
