Tue, May 4 2021, 4:38 PM
Last week fired warning shots across the bow of April's mortgage rate rally. New month, new momentum? No, not just yet. In fact, we haven't seen much ...
Tue, May 4 2021, 4:01 PM
Earnings Season in Full Swing as Bonds Hold Range
Have you heard the one about Ferrari moving the bond marke...
Tue, May 4 2021, 10:30 AM
Most other countries construct homes out of concrete, stone, steel, or brick, but here in the good ol’ USA we use wood. A renewable resource, right? I...
Tue, May 4 2021, 9:04 AM
Have you heard the one about Ferrari moving the bond market? Well, now you have. In an apparent mystery move before the start of the domestic sessio...
Mon, May 3 2021, 4:01 PM
Logical Reaction to Data Sets Stage For Interesting Week
The week began with bond markets reacting to weaker...
Mon, May 3 2021, 12:42 PM
Black Knight's "first look" at March loan performance data explored the somewhat traditional dip in delinquencies each March due to calendar events li...
Mon, May 3 2021, 12:18 PM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported improved income during the first quarter of 2021. Fannie Mae said its net income increased from $4.57 billion...
Mon, May 3 2021, 10:18 AM
Who is Guramrit Hanspal? Every servicer and lender hope good ol’ Gur doesn’t start giving lessons in how to avoid making mortgage payments , which he ...
Mon, May 3 2021, 9:50 AM
One of the most notable themes of the past year is the relative unwillingness on the part of the bond market to make a big fuss over individual econom...
Fri, Apr 30 2021, 6:08 PM
Uneventful Month-End Friday. Next Week Could Be Different
Bonds recovered modestly but respectably after st...
Fri, Apr 30 2021, 10:55 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 27.2 percent in March compared to a 17.7 percent g...
Fri, Apr 30 2021, 10:53 AM
The number of loans in forbearance rose over the past week, driven by increases in those held in bank portfolios and private label securities (PLS). B...
Fri, Apr 30 2021, 10:19 AM
How are we 1/3 done with 2021 already? Few are sitting on their hands as the months roll on. Exxon had its first profitable quarter since 2019. Fannie...
Fri, Apr 30 2021, 10:02 AM
Bonds are starting the day in decent shape with 10yr yields just slightly lower than yesterday's latest levels. The bigger story is MBS outperformanc...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 4:19 PM
Mortgage rates were mixed today, depending on the lender. Virtually every lender began the day with slightly higher rates, but most offered mid-day im...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 3:59 PM
Awesome Bounce Back But Still a Cautionary Tale
Bonds started the day quite a bit weaker after several piece...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:55 AM
While the degree to which is happened was somewhat disappointing, pending home sales did snap out of a two-month slump in March . The National Associa...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:39 AM
There has been a significant reduction mortgage processing times since the first of the year according to ICE Mortgage Technology. Its Origination Ins...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 10:36 AM
A “google” is the large number of 1 with 100 zeroes after it. For lenders, a billion is a large number, and it would be unheard of for a lender to sav...
Thu, Apr 29 2021, 9:09 AM
Bonds started the day quite a bit weaker after several pieces of EU econ data came in much stronger than expected. Domestic data hasn't done anything...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 4:40 PM
The Federal Reserve released a new policy announcement today. This is one of the 8 times per year where the Fed can opt to change "rates," or adjust i...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 4:29 PM
Bonds Find Footing After Digesting Friendly Fed Message
Bonds were slightly cautious ahead of the Fed announ...
Wed, Apr 28 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, Apr 28 2021, 12:05 PM
Earlier this month the Urban Institute pointed out that the unprecedented low interest rates of the pandemic era have not benefitted everyone. Their r...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 10:57 AM
Lenders will have more than an additional year to comply with the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) Rule . The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFP...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 10:55 AM
There sure is a lot going on out there! From California comes news that Finance of America is buying “certain assets” from California’s Parkside Lendi...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 9:29 AM
Today's Fed announcement isn't likely to contain any major revelations for the bond market, nor to cause any significant volatility. Logical conclusi...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 8:42 AM
The national homeownership rate moved fractionally higher in the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the same quarter in 2020 but was lower than in...
Wed, Apr 28 2021, 8:27 AM
The solid 8.6 percent increase in mortgage application volume during the week ended April 16, only the fourth gain thus far in 2021, was short lived. ...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 4:25 PM
Mortgage rates have fallen almost every single day in April. By the end of last week, that meant the average lender was offering the lowest convention...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 3:30 PM
Another Bad 7yr Auction Day, Even If We Can't Blame The Auction
Bonds were feeling a bit defensive ahead of ...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 11:34 AM
A month after interest rates began to rise, neither the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices nor that from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) fou...
Tue, Apr 27 2021, 9:56 AM
7yr Treasury auctions haven't been great for bonds in 2021. Every time we've had one, bonds have sold off. In fact, the late February example proved...
Mon, Apr 26 2021, 10:51 AM
While the market digests the acquisition of Flagstar by NY Community Bancorp by the end of 2021, and talk of more deals in the works, in previous gene...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 2:49 PM
Winning Streak Thwarted, But Not By Much
This morning's Day Ahead pondered the possibility of a 4th straight...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 12:09 PM
New home sales reversed direction in March, fully recovering from the 18.2 percent nosedive those sales took in February. The Census Bureau said sales...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:33 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting a banner year for purchase mortgage originations. The Association's chief economist and senior vi...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:32 AM
Existing home sales declined for the second straight month in March. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said single-family homes, townhomes, ...
Fri, Apr 23 2021, 10:28 AM
My cat Myrtle seems immune to marketing and advertisement. Not everyone is, of course, and there are some clever, albeit ominous, ways to get messages...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 5:06 PM
Mortgage rates fell to the lowest levels since March 2nd or 3rd (depending on the lender) yesterday and today they fell just a bit more. Most borrower...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 4:01 PM
Forget the ECB; Taxes Saved Bonds Today
First off, bonds didn't really need "saving." They were only modest...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:48 AM
For months, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has been citing lumber prices as one of the headwinds faced by new home builders as they ...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:44 AM
Black Knight's "first look" at loan performance data in March brought back memories of an old TV ad, "Is it real or is it Memorex?" The company said t...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:25 AM
Not you, of course, but many other people in our biz are elderly. Sure you haven’t seen them in person in a year, but they’re there. Or they have elde...
Thu, Apr 22 2021, 10:04 AM
Today's only real significant market mover is/was the ECB Announcement and press conference. They weren't expected to change policy, but markets were...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 3:39 PM
Last Thursday was the best day for mortgage rates in more than a month, and while they bounced back up on Thursday afternoon, they've been falling mod...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 3:28 PM
4th Straight Day Inside Last Thursday's Range
Last Thursday was the best rally day we've seen in months and ...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 10:04 AM
There are no major events on the econ calendar today and no compelling market movers in play so far this week--at least not for bonds. Stocks, on the...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 9:50 AM
Over the weekend I visited a gas station, and the fellow in the kiosk had a name tag with, “Tim, Fuel Leader” inscribed on it. I will leave making fun...
Wed, Apr 21 2021, 9:45 AM
Mortgage application volume broke out of a six-week slump in a big way during the week ended April 16. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Marke...
