Fri, Aug 20 2010, 4:34 PM
From 10,000 feet, the story of the week was "Mortgage Rates Rebound from Losing Streak", but when you look closer I think the bigger story was "Mortg...
Fri, Aug 20 2010, 1:03 PM
We have yet to perform a thorough analysis on loan pricing this week. Now seems like a good time...
Thu, Aug 19 2010, 10:32 AM
Econ data surprised to the downside, stocks are selling through support levels, Treasury longs are reaffirming a "buy on the dips" bias, and rate shee...
Thu, Aug 19 2010, 7:59 AM
U.S. Treasuries traded sideways early in the overnight session but cheapened after the German Bundesbank raised their 2010 growth outlook from +1.9% ...
Thu, Aug 19 2010, 5:51 PM
After reprices, rate sheets are improved vs. offers yesterday. The best execution par interest rate remains in the 4.25% to 4.50% range for well quali...
Wed, Aug 18 2010, 11:40 AM
Stocks are super cheap vs. bonds, we get auction supply terms tomorrow from the Treasury (2s, 5s, 7s), and the econ calendar is thin for the rest of t...
Wed, Aug 18 2010, 8:40 AM
Markets are relatively calm this morning after equities climbed more than 1% Tuesday. One hour before the opening bell, Dow futures are trading 4 poin...
Wed, Aug 18 2010, 3:08 PM
Spurred on by a dramatic decline in benchmark debt yields, mortgage rates touched new lows last week. Actually I don't know if I should say mortgage...
Tue, Aug 17 2010, 11:58 AM
Equity markets are rallying out of oversold territory and benchmark interest rates are retracing gains that forced the long end of the curve even dee...
Tue, Aug 17 2010, 8:24 AM
Benchmark interest rates are higher and equity futures are rallying ahead of key housing, price level, and production data. In addition, the Treasury ...
Tue, Aug 17 2010, 3:44 PM
Following the release of Industrial Production data, stocks extended overnight gains and benchmark interest rates rose. This pressured mortgage backed...
Mon, Aug 16 2010, 8:41 AM
The week ahead brings new data on manufacturing, housing sentiment and construction, industrial production and producer costs. Last week, the Dow shed...
Mon, Aug 16 2010, 4:54 PM
On Thursday I said this rally has gone too far way too fast, but then on Friday positions were added and the curve rallied a little more. This continu...
Mon, Aug 16 2010, 4:22 PM
Look for mortgage rates to be indicative of competitiveness in the primary mortgage market. There are several factors that go into the determination o...
Fri, Aug 13 2010, 10:48 AM
10s are holding their bid as it appears the overbought status of the flatter yield curve has yet to draw out enough profit taking to deter supportive"...
Fri, Aug 13 2010, 10:22 AM
A packed schedule of economic data awaits skeptical investors this morning. Before the data, stocks are down for the fourth consecutive day even in li...
Thu, Aug 12 2010, 9:37 AM
Loan supply is on screens and mortgages are getting smashed in a "bid wanted" environment. Rebate should be worse to start the day.
Thu, Aug 12 2010, 8:46 AM
Markets are more stable this morning but it’s not yet clear if they are ready to recover from the steep losses on Wednesday which pummeled the Dow by ...
Thu, Aug 12 2010, 1:48 PM
Reprices for the worse are unlikely at the moment but I expect to see a retest of the recent interest rate rally in the near future, especially the po...
Wed, Aug 11 2010, 10:04 AM
The Fed is not ready to totally back out of the market yet! The "de minimis" manner in which they will conduct their operations suggests the Fed is se...
Wed, Aug 11 2010, 8:23 AM
Stock futures are weaker and interest rates are rallying, led by the long end of the yield curve. Ahead of Trade Balance Data...S&P 500 futures are -1...
Wed, Aug 11 2010, 5:57 PM
While mortgages definitely lagged Treasuries, mortgage rates improved again today. We are now seeing most lenders offer 4.25% on rate sheets and are e...
Wed, Aug 11 2010, 1:08 PM
The long-end of the yield curve is outperforming today. 2s/10s are another 6bps flatter at 218bps. 10s haven't lost a step since auction results flash...
Tue, Aug 10 2010, 8:56 AM
Investors are squeamish ahead of key productivity data this morning as well as this afternoon’s policy statement from the Federal Reserve.
Before T...
Tue, Aug 10 2010, 1:05 PM
Treasury just sold $34 billion 3s. The auction went well. There were 3.31 bids submitted for every one accepted by Treasury. The high yield was lower...
Mon, Aug 9 2010, 10:55 AM
August is the slowest month of the year in financial markets. Many participants have surrendered their Blackberry(s) and will be detached from reality...
Mon, Aug 9 2010, 9:13 AM
Equity markets are expected to open higher this week despite Friday’s weak employment report, and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement T...
Mon, Aug 9 2010, 7:33 PM
Lender rate sheets this morning are improved when compared to last weeks. The par 30 year conventional rate mortgage remains in the 4.25% to 4.50% ra...
Fri, Aug 6 2010, 9:17 AM
AFTER THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION REPORT: Stock futures sold, the dollar declined vs. a basket of currencies, oil prices plummeted, gold looks great, and...
Fri, Aug 6 2010, 5:11 PM
Mortgage rates are unchanged on a week over week basis, 4.25% is still as good as it gets. Borrowers considering a refinance should submit a loan app...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 10:17 AM
This morning one of my buddies shared a story with me. He had a loan officer ask him if it was possible to offer 4.125% to one of his consumers. Unfor...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 8:19 AM
Ninety minutes before the bell, Dow futures are up 15 points to 10,650 and S&P 500 futures are 0.50 points at 1,124.75. The 2-year TSY note yield is l...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 7:25 PM
The official Employment Situation report is slated to be released this Friday at 8:30am eastern. This event holds the most potential to move mortgage ...
Thu, Aug 5 2010, 2:29 PM
RISK REPORT: Borrowers who are on a timeline of less than 30-days to closing face the most interest rate risk. The farther out your closing date is, t...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 10:47 AM
Morning data is behind us and the market is making an originator unfriendly directional move...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 8:51 AM
As the dust continues to settle and the reality of a long, slow economic recovery sets in, one economic metric in particular will set the tone for the...
Wed, Aug 4 2010, 8:09 AM
Equity futures are trading lower this morning and interest rates are flat ahead of key employment and services data this morning. “Despite yesterday’s...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:37 AM
The WSJ published a story today implying the Federal Reserve was considering the idea of reinvesting MBS prepays back into new production TBA MBS. Rea...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 8:19 AM
The slow summer trade is in full effect ahead of what is setting up to be a directionally significant event this Friday: NonFarmPayrolls. If the Empl...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 5:53 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Tue, Aug 3 2010, 1:12 PM
The September FNCL 4.0 is +0-10 at 102-01 and the September FNCL 4.5 is +0-10 at 104-09. These are intraday highs. Some lenders may reprice for the be...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 9:31 AM
The Week Ahead: Employment Situation Report, Pending Home Sales, ISM, Treasury Auction Terms, Construction Spending, Personal Income & Outlays,
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 8:06 PM
The "best executed" lock/float strategy comes down to finding an originator who knows the loan market, studies underwriting guidelines, and just plai...
Mon, Aug 2 2010, 3:32 PM
If you're a loan officer, I think the best advice I can offer is: Lock after you've gotten the file far enough to foresee an underwriting decision and...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 11:10 AM
Rate sheet influential mortgage-backs are experiencing some localized weakness/relief. Nominally, spreads have been wider all morning but price level...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 8:29 AM
A busy day awaits the markets as investors get their first look at second-quarter GDP. Also in the store is the influential Chicago Business Barometer...
Fri, Jul 30 2010, 4:44 PM
ALERT: There are some lenders out there, if the APP--to-->CLOSING process is flawless, where a borrower could close at 4.25% right now, without paying...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 8:30 AM
Equity futures are trading higher this morning despite word from Moody’s that it would have to question America’s triple-A credit rating unless it pr...
Thu, Jul 29 2010, 1:09 PM
I hinted at this observation this morning but I will expand. The last time 10s broke through 3.00%...it was during an auction week. It just so happene...
Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:44 AM
Front-month TBA levels set yet another new record high this morning and yield spreads continued to tighten vs. benchmarks. While the street more than ...
