Wed, May 24 2023, 10:26 AM
As the MBA’s Secondary Conference in New York wraps up, and jokes are made about who actually paid for Fannie’s reception (informally titled “The Repu...
Tue, May 2 2023, 10:07 AM
If you’re really happy when a scheduled conference or Zoom call is cancelled, does that mean you’re in the wrong line of work? (Asking for a friend.) ...
Mon, Apr 24 2023, 9:31 AM
I head to Colorado Springs this morning, the scene of $3,000 mountain bikes in bike racks on top of $500 cars. There are roughly 380 bank branches in ...
Tue, Apr 11 2023, 10:22 AM
“The human brain is the most amazing organ in the human body. It works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from birth up until the moment that you buy yo...
Tue, Apr 4 2023, 10:25 AM
I was having dinner in Manhattan last night, with the topics including Virgin Orbit filing for bankruptcy and the continuing Homepoint rumors (any que...
Fri, Mar 24 2023, 9:49 AM
“I got stuck in a conversation with some wealthy people and one woman asked me how my investments were doing. I replied that both avocadoes should be ...
Fri, Mar 3 2023, 9:53 AM
I won’t sugar coat this. Here’s some rough news for lenders and LOs: With plenty of quant jocks to slice and dice numbers, Goldman Sachs tells us that...
Mon, Feb 13 2023, 9:59 AM
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, traditionally associated with love. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, an Ohio animal shelter is offering to write...
Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:53 AM
Do you know what “splooting” is? Here’s a hint: 4-legged animals do it. (Hey, I don’t make these things up.) Quite the word. Words are very interestin...
Thu, Dec 29 2022, 10:29 AM
What does someone look like when they started working in our business at age 15? Well, there’s always this interview last week with Robbie Chrisman (y...
Fri, Dec 16 2022, 10:09 AM
This morning I Head East to Chicago for a handful of days. If you’ve wondered what a pilot sees when landing at O’Hare, here’s a mesmerizing video. (W...
Tue, Oct 25 2022, 9:24 AM
In the press, here’s some information on the hit the Fed’s balance sheet has taken give the bond market selloff. And here at the MBA’s annual, some of...
Tue, Oct 18 2022, 9:40 AM
Do you think putting together a loan is tough? How ‘bout a giant skeleton in your front yard? This dedicated individual has documented the process of ...
Fri, Sep 30 2022, 10:41 AM
If you’ve ever had to hire people, did you sort your applications into three piles: Mad, Hopeless, or Possible? For his Antarctic expeditions, Ernest ...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 10:07 AM
Tony H. writes, “I just switched my 30-year home mortgage to ‘student loan.’ Follow me for more financial advice.” I have been fielding questions abou...
Mon, Aug 22 2022, 10:35 AM
John Kenneth Galbraith said, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” How about forecasts of how dramatic th...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:39 AM
I mentioned yesterday that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math, but it doesn’t take a genius to do subtraction. 6 - .2 = 5.8, right? Wouldn’t you...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 11:13 AM
Did you know that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math? I do too, as suggested by my capital markets background, but I know enough to understand t...
Fri, Jun 10 2022, 10:27 AM
Start the day with a little something non-mortgage? Ira S. with U.S. Mortgage, on his time off, of course, found “River Runner.” One can basically cli...
Thu, Apr 28 2022, 11:23 AM
While the industry digests Freddie Mac’s first quarter earnings (47 percent purchase, 53 percent refi), if you try to correct my grammar, I will think...
Thu, Apr 14 2022, 10:34 AM
It’s Thursday. What should we talk about today? Elon Musk’s bid for Twitter? How about the jump in adjustable-rate locks as evidenced by the MBA’s fig...
Fri, Apr 8 2022, 11:27 AM
The risk-free 2-year Treasury began 2022 yielding .73 and is now at 2.52 percent! Does your company offer 2-1 buydown loans? Do your LOs even know wha...
Fri, Feb 25 2022, 12:11 PM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 11.2 percent in January compared to a 13.1 perce...
Wed, Feb 16 2022, 8:48 AM
Things change and time passes. A little more than three months ago we “fell back” and now we have less than a month until most states in the U.S. chan...
Tue, Feb 15 2022, 10:02 AM
Another tool will soon be available to lenders working with Freddie Mac that is expected to speed up loan processing and reduce the paperwork involv...
Thu, Jan 27 2022, 11:05 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 13.1 percent in December compared to a 12.0 pe...
Tue, Jan 25 2022, 11:31 AM
Numbers are interesting things. “1” is the number of dogs, that I know of, rescued by a drone dragging a sausage and leading the dog to safety out of ...
Mon, Jan 24 2022, 12:45 PM
Freddie Mac’s first quarterly forecast for 2022 cites the need for improvement in the nation’s employment picture. Even though the December report fro...
Thu, Dec 30 2021, 11:12 AM
Do we have an 8-year memory in an industry with 10-year business cycles? Bridging the gap between affordability, qualifying with a low income, and ris...
Mon, Dec 27 2021, 11:09 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 12.0 percent in November compared to a 15.7 percen...
Mon, Dec 20 2021, 10:52 AM
W.C. Fields said, “Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places.” Unfortunately, many people have much less of it, and ...
Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:57 AM
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reminding homeowners and mortgage servicers that their disaster relief options are in effect for those affected by...
Mon, Nov 15 2021, 10:54 AM
This morning I head to Kansas for the MBAKC annual membership luncheon later this week. Home price appreciation is doing just fine in Kansas City , an...
Mon, Nov 1 2021, 1:18 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) reported their respective third quarter 2021 financial results on Friday. Both posted significant increases in n...
Tue, Oct 26 2021, 10:49 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 17.4 percent in September compared to a 23.7 perce...
Wed, Oct 20 2021, 10:27 AM
Someone here in San Diego asked an audience, “Who out there misses their Blackberry?” and many raised their hands. Technology… an interesting thing. H...
Tue, Sep 21 2021, 11:34 AM
A cluster of stories about appraised values of homes in minority areas hit the national news earlier this summer and now Freddie Mac has released an a...
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...
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...
Mon, Aug 23 2021, 10:49 AM
Fires in California, floods in Tennessee, hurricanes in New York, COVID hospitalizations seemingly everywhere written up by the press. The “fun” never...
Mon, Aug 9 2021, 10:47 AM
Last week I was in Orange County at the Insellerate Experience Summit 21, and this week I am 2,500 miles away in Orlando, FL at the Lenders One Summit...
Thu, Aug 5 2021, 4:47 PM
Freddie Mae has announced a new single-close mortgage product that will allow homeowners to finance the cost of small scale renovations. The CHOICERen...
Wed, Aug 4 2021, 4:17 PM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 12.9 percent in June compared to an 8.6 percent ga...
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...
Wed, Jul 14 2021, 11:37 AM
Don’t think technology controls you? How about this news that Apple’s weather app will never show a temperature of 69 degrees ? Good mortgage loan ori...
Mon, Jun 28 2021, 11:38 AM
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 8.6 percent in May compared to a 13.2 percent gain...
Thu, May 6 2021, 10:47 AM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) have provided details for their streamlined refinance programs that were originally announced by the Federal Hou...
Tue, May 4 2021, 4:56 PM
The GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been given orders to develop so-called living wills. Such wills are credible resolution plans that outline ho...
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...
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...
