Mortgage Daily News

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates managed to stay sideways today after beginning the week with a move higher yesterday. This is a victory all things considered. Rates take guidance from multiple sources. When it comes to mortgages, the prices of mortgage-backed bonds are the key […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireFreddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 14.3 percent in April, up from a 9.2 percent gain in March and the largest rate since December. The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $2.396 trillion compared to […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryToday's first chart shows the trend we've been following in 10yr Treasury yields. It is pointed in an unfriendly direction (i.e. "up"), but at a fairly gentle pace in the bigger picture. Even then, such trends are by no means crystal balls. At best, they can provide some […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressMaking the rounds is, “The spread of Covid-19 is based on two factors. #1: How dense the population is. #2: How dense the population is.” As a nation, we remain divided on virtually everything about COVID. There is well-written article on how half the calls on […]

Posted To: MND NewsWirePurchase mortgage applications rose for the 6 th straight week, driving the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index back into positive territory. The Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates hit new all-time lows last week. In fact, for many lenders, records were broken on more than one day. That raised the risk of a bounce back this week and if today is any indication, that's what we're seeing. The average lender is back in line with last […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireNew home sales, rather than dropping like a rock, rose 0.6 percent in April according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Part of the gain is due to a revision of the March sales numbers from an original estimate of 627,000 […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireEven as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hobble home sales in many locations, home prices continued to increase. the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) House Price Index (HPI) held to its 5.7 percent gains the prior month while the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryNo need to overcomplicate the current narrative: the overall financial market is attempting to balance the reopening of the economy with the risk of COVID resurgence, all the while receiving a boost from massive global stimulus efforts. No matter how pessimistic anyone […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressI doubt if I have ever pressed “7” or “8” on my microwave oven keypad. Speaking of 7 & 8 (I know, a weak segue), originators are keenly aware of what builders are seeing, economy-wise, and 78 percent of them did not lower their prices in April. […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchThere's no shortage of bad news when it comes to the economy and the housing market. But that's no surprise considering the circumstances. The sheer size and speed of the economic contraction makes it easy to worry about what the future will look like. Has coronavirus […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe years-long downward trend of mortgage delinquencies appears to have come to an abrupt end in April. Black Knight, in its "first look" at the month's loan performance data, said the national delinquency rate shot up 90 percent compared to March and is 86 percent higher […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe number of homeowners in mortgage forbearance plans continues to increase, reaching 4.75 million by May 19. This is 9.0 percent of all active borrowers nationwide and represents a little more than $1 trillion in unpaid principal. The number of plans grew by 93,000 […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryTreasuries started out stronger after overnight drama between China and Hong Kong caused a " risk-off " trade (i.e. sell stocks, buy bonds). MBS continue lagging Treasuries. What's up with that? The performance between MBS and Treasuries can always vary to some extent. […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressThe Friday before a three-day weekend (honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military)! Can’t you just feel that anxiousness to go and hike, to have a meal out, to see people, to sit in a restaurant? No one can argue that social distancing has […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates were mostly steady today for most lenders. Those who changed generally did so in a friendly direction. Either way, that means today's rates remain in line with all-time lows. It also makes them markedly lower than last week. Despite that fact, you're […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireExisting home sales fell hard in April, the numbers coming in about where analysts expected them but breaking a nine-month string of annual gains. The National Association of Realtors® said total sales of single-family homes, townhouses, condos, and cooperative were at a […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireInterest rates on closed loans continued to decline in April, falling from 3.65 percent in March to 3.48 percent according to the Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae. That prompted another surge in refinancing , with that portion of originations jumping from 55 percent […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireMaybe all of the talk about ending the GSE's long term incarceration in conservatorship is more than talk this time. Earlier this week both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced they would be issuing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) seeking to hire financial advisors to that end. […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryTreasuries held onto yesterday's gains in the overnight session and are starting the day in slightly better shape (MBS are roughly unchanged). This means that 10yr yields continue adhering to a technical pattern we've been following for the past few weeks AND that we may […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressSome lenders and vendors are easing back into offices, or at least planning voluntary phases. (Hmmm… wear a mask and have 2 per elevator, or work from home with no commute and wear sweats. Let me think.) Instead of thermal scanners in every office lobby, can’t […]

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates fell again today. Whereas yesterday's improvements arrived in choppy fashion only after many lenders quoted higher rates in the morning. Today's improvement was more conclusive and more consistent from lender to lender. While there were a handful of […]

Posted To: MND NewsWireWith the number of homeowners under forbearance plans nearing 10 percent of all of those having a mortgage, a Lending Tree survey indicates that most of those borrowers did not actually need the help. One quarter of the homeowners surveyed by the company said they had applied […]

Posted To: MBS CommentaryI've been mentioning MBS outperformance and underperformance quite a bit recently, but what do these terms really mean and why do we care? First off, we always care about strength and weakness in mortgage bonds as they are the primary building block in determining mortgage […]

Posted To: Pipeline PressJury trial by Zoom? Leave it to Texas to give it a shot. Michigan and Indiana are now offering the bar exam online for aspiring attorneys. Out of Pennsylvania comes news that Gov. Tom Wolf issued an executive order that allows real estate to open on a statewide basis […]