Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchThere are quite a few more new stories than normal about mortgage rates today. Most of them are wrong. This one is not, and it's pretty easy to see why. Freddie Mac releases its weekly mortgage rate survey every Thursday morning. The survey accepts responses from […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryBonds Generally Consolidating Ahead of Jobs Report MBS were higher today, but for the week as a whole, they've been flat (and right in line with last Friday's levels as of this afternoon). That doesn't seem like a coincidence based on tomorrow's jobs report, but it still […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireForeign buyers cut back their investment in U.S. residential properties over the 12 months that ended in March. It was the second year-over-year decline. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) annual survey among its members about their transactions with […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryYesterday's bond market weakness prompted a conversation about the limits of the current rally. It went a little something like this (<----that's a link you can click). For the non-link-clickers out there, here's a recap: Bonds have been in a clearly-defined rally trend […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressOriginators and lenders are having a great summer from income and profitability perspectives. The thick margins are making managers look like champs, arguably covering up other issues that would normally be corrected. Rocket, the parent company of largest US mortgage […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates cooled off today, rising for the first time since July 27th for the average lender. Between now and then we've seen a string of what have mostly been new record lows with top tier 30yr fixed offerings well under 3%. For more on what constitutes a "top […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryIs The Rally Meeting Resistance or Just Consolidation? With modest overnight weakness and a small negative reaction to this morning's headlines (ADP and Treasury issuance), bonds may be encountering some more resistance on their journey toward lower yields and higher […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireHome prices increased in June at the fastest pace in more than seven years. CoreLogic said its Home Price Index (HPI) rose 1.0 percent from May, the largest month-over-month gain since January 2013. The appreciation from April to May was 0.7 percent. Prices rose […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryWith modest overnight weakness and a small negative reaction to this morning's headlines (ADP and Treasury issuance), bonds may be encountering some more resistance on their journey toward lower yields and higher prices. Is this a meaningful signal or just incidental […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressSince eating inside a restaurant is problematic, now’s the perfect time to eat better at home, get fit, and stay healthy. Never mind: Who are we trying to impress? We have snacks, we have sweatpants, let’s use them! Would you be impressed if the entire U.S. […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireMortgage application volume declined during the week ended July 31 even as mortgage interest rates reached another all-time low. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, decreased 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates are on a tear, with the average lender easily hitting new all-time lows today. How low is that? At this point it's safe to say that anything over 3% is too high as long as we're talking about a top tier scenario. So let's take a moment to discuss what […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryBonds Continue Pushing The Record Pace, But MBS Are Lagging Yesterday we asked what would come next for bonds after breaking through resistance levels (.58 in 10yr yields and 103.00 in 2.0 UMBS), what comes next. Such breakouts can be the cue for a corrective bounce or a […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressSure, you’re making bank now, but are you planning for next year? Is your company doing anything to “team up”? Many lenders, vendors, and real estate companies have strategic partnerships with other companies. There’s strength in numbers, and they […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryWhile there's no way to know how the day will wrap up for the MBS market, we know how it's starting out. We also know how 4 of the past 5 days have started out (and wrapped up, for that matter): at all-time highs. The following chart of 2.0 UMBS candlesticks shows the […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireConstruction spending held firm in June, inching down fractionally from the May level and increasing a bit compared to June 2019. The U.S. Census Bureau said total spending during the month was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.355 trillion, down 0.7 percent from the […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryBonds Defend New Territory Now that bonds have broken through previous resistance levels (.58 in 10yr yields and 103.00 in 2.0 UMBS), what comes next? Rather than look for fast-paced follow-through, it would be enough of a victory to merely see bonds maintain these newly […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireIn the second quarter of 2020, 11 percent of American adults were planning on purchasing a home over the next 12 months, and of those, almost half were actively engaged in doing so. Rose Quint, writing in the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB's) Eye on Housing blog […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe last report from Freddie Mac put its 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) at 2.99 percent, up 1 basis point from the all-time low. Black Knight, in its new Mortgage Monitor , says that has made home affordability the best in four years. As of mid-July, it required only 19.8 […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe National Home Builders Association (NHBA) has been saying since the COVID-19 virus first began to ravage the economy, that it might be housing that would drive the eventual recovery. Now they have some real evidence. The record setting 32.9 percent second quarter decline […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryNow that bonds have broken through previous resistance levels (.58 in 10yr yields and 103.00 in 2.0 UMBS), what comes next? Rather than look for fast-paced follow-through, it would be enough of a victory to merely see bonds maintain these newly acquired levels. Today we'll […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressRemember a month ago, heading into the July 4th weekend, a resurgence of Covid-19 cases (which many officials attributed to large Memorial Day gatherings) resulted in mask-wearing mandates as well as rollbacks and delays in phased reopening plans. (Speaking of the virus, we […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates have fallen more aggressively than ever and they've been remarkably willing to set record after record. So is there any reason you shouldn't wait for them to go even lower? This is an age old question any time rates fall to long-term lows. In the past, […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryAll-Time Levels All Around. Here's How To Play It Another day, another opportunity for MBS prices to hit record highs and rates to--well... rates are just sort of kicking around a piece of ground in their home town (at all time lows), but notably, they're not looking too […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireAs of Wednesday, there were 4.102 million mortgages in forbearance plans. This is 7.7 percent of the 53 million loans in servicer portfolios. Black Knight said its weekly survey noted a 17,000-loan decrease in total forborne loans over the previous week. What remains […]