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Mortgage News Daily

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MBS RECAP: New Fed Vice Chair Helps Rates and Stocks
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryWe haven't heard much out of new Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida since he accepted the position, but what we heard today was good. Well, at least the bond market reaction was good. His comments ended up setting the tone for the day. So what did he say? Nothing too complicated... Whereas Fed Pres Bostic was talking about a "neutral rate" of 2.5-3.5 yesterday, Clarida said we're close to a neutral range NOW. That certainly seemed to be the biggest deal among his comments, but it was perhaps just as significant that he noted evidence of global economic slowing. Stocks and bonds both rallied from there on out. The fact that the shorter end of the yield curve led the charge was especially telling (that's where we'd expect to see a bond market rally driven by shifts in Fed...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Mortgage Rates Lowest in a Month
'); document.write('Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates hit their lowest levels of THE month yesterday, and the lowest levels in A month today. It\'s a bit of a technicality, really. As of yesterday, there were a few days in mid-to-late October that saw lower rates. Today\'s drop means we\'d need to go back to early October to see anything lower. What\'s the significance of being at the lowest levels in a month? None, really. It\'s just really fun to be able to say such things in an environment where such things haven\'t been easily said for quite some time! Perhaps more relevant and more tangible is the fact that we can say rates are nearly an eighth of a percentage point lower on the week, and that\'s a decent move regardless of the environment. Next week brings the Thanksgiving holiday, which tends to make mortgage lenders set rates more...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
New Home Sales, Prices Faded in October
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) notes that applications for the purchase of new homes declined by 2.1 percent in October compared to the same month in 2017. Those applications were also 11 percent lower than in September. The information, taken from responses to MBA\'s Builder Application Survey, does not include any adjustment for seasonal patterns. Based on the survey results and other assumptions including about market coverage, MBA estimates that new single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 673,000 in October, an increase of 4.7 percent from the September sales rate of 643,000 units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBA projects 53,000 new home sales occurred during the month, up by 6 percent from 50,000 sales in September. Conventional loan applications accounted...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund Outperforms for Fourth Year in a Row
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireThe Federal Housing Administration (FHA) said on Thursday that its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI Fund) exceeded its congressionally mandated minimum reserves in FY2018 for the fourth year in a row. In its 2018 Annual Report to Congress the agency said its Capital Reserve Ratio was 2.76 percent at the end of the year, an 0.58 percentage point increase from FY2017. The Economic Net Worth of the fund was $34.8 billion an increase of more than $8 billion from the previous year. The figure is comprised of Total Capital Resources of $49.24 billion and a negative Cash Flow NPV of -$14.38 billion. FHA is required to maintain reserves to cover estimated losses plus a capital cushion of 2.0 percent of all Insurance-in-Force (IFF). This \'Capital Ratio\' is calculated by dividing the Fund\'s Economic...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS Day Ahead: Bonds Already Commuting for Thanksgiving?
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryBecause November 1st was a Thursday, we'll be treated to the earliest possible iteration of Thanksgiving. It's next week, by the way! Why are we talking about such things with respect to financial markets? Simply put, the winter holidays definitely have an impact. The catch is that the these impacts vary, and their timing is uncertain with respect to Thanksgiving (as opposed to late December, when it's always going to be the last 2 weeks of the month followed by the first week of January. What sort of patterns do we see shaping up? Oftentimes, it's simply a consolidation. In other words, yields/prices are in the process of making higher lows and lower highs. Sometimes there's a breakout well before the end of the year, but there are rarely breakouts in late November. The...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Profitability and Commission Products; HELOCs, Servicing, Digital...Geocoding Bid Tapes!
'); document.write('Posted To: Pipeline PressWhy is the housing market sluggish despite a solid U.S. economy, solid demographics, and pent-up demand? Those don’t matter if prices are out of reach relative to incomes , and housing appreciation has outpaced income growth for a long time. And lending standards have remained more rigorous than they were during the last housing boom, so it has been harder for people to stretch to buy a home. (Veteran lenders will tell you, however, that not everyone deserves to own a home .) The inability of people to buy homes they can’t really afford is great news in terms of avoiding another crisis or even a bubble, but not so great for the near-term outlook for housing. Lender Services and Products Is your correspondent lending business prepared to grow in 2019? To find out, check out this...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS RECAP: Bonds Pulled 2 Ways by Stocks and Global Gloominess
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryRemember the middle of 2016 when rates managed to make it all the way back in line with all-time lows despite having almost no justification in terms of economic data and policy outlooks? Those low rates were mostly about Brexit . Something about Brexit is utterly captivating for global financial markets. When it first happened, there was a bit of an anticlimactic response, largely due to the time window involved in working out the nuts and bolts. Now more than 2 years later, we're getting into the more serious phases of the process. Markets aren't nearly as rattled as they were in 2016, but shifts in potential Brexit outcomes have nonetheless been relevant market movers this week. In general, they made a case for bond market gains (i.e. lower rates) this morning, and never really reversed...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Fannie Mae Offering Relief Programs in Wildfire Areas
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireFannie Mae has expanded the menu of post-disaster services it is offering to its borrowers. The new services are in addition to the up to 12 months of forbearance, waived fees, and temporary foreclosure moratorium that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) traditionally offer in the wake of hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters. A press release from Fannie Mae, probably prompted by the unprecedented destruction and loss of life from wildfires in both the northern and southern parts of California, announces personalized case management services through its Disaster Response Network. The program will provide personalized support \"to address safety and basic needs, property repairs, employment, and financial recovery-all of which affect a borrower\'s ability to meet their mortgage obligations...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Lowest Mortgage Rates This Month!
'); document.write('Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates hit their lowest levels of the month today! Sure, that\'s only 10 business days for the mortgage world, but we\'ll take every little victory we can get these days. Why is that? Because \"these days\" have been pretty rough. Exactly one week ago, rates were at their highest levels in nearly 8 years. The assertion about today\'s rates runs counter to quite a few news stories. Major media outlets are reporting rates as being \'unchanged\' this week. That wasn\'t necessarily incorrect until today. In those cases, reporters are relying on Freddie Mac\'s weekly survey data. The survey only collects responses from Monday through Wednesday and the results tend to over-represent Monday and Tuesday\'s rates on any given week. Long story short, as of yesterday, it would have been fair to say rates...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Buyers Not Holding Their Breath for Short Term Market Relief
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireIt ain\'t going to get any easier... The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) tells us these cheery words encapsulate the attitude of respondents to its survey regarding home purchasing. The company\'s Housing Trends Report for the third quarter of the year found that seven out of 10 of prospective homeowners think that shopping for a house is either going to get harder or stay about the same. The report focuses on the 13 percent of survey respondents defined as prospective homebuyers, that is persons planning on purchasing within the next year. This percentage was 24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 and has declined steadily since. Among Millennials surveyed, 19 percent had short term purchase plans as did 13 percent of Gen Xers. Only 7 percent of Baby Boomers and 3 percent of seniors...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS Day Ahead: Brexit Strikes Back
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryAh Brexit... You thought you'd heard the last of it back in 2016? No such luck. Actually, it is a bit lucky to be hearing about it, at least as far as domestic rates are concerned. Both in 2016 and in the past week, Brexit-related developments helped rates move lower. The current iteration of Brexit drama is not anywhere near that of 2016 and neither is the market reaction. That said, there certainly has been a market reaction. Yesterday afternoon, that reaction was noticeable, but barely. The overnight session brought an even bigger move in British currency (Pounds Sterling), and a more direct response in US bond markets. Much like bonds' relationship with stocks, it will take quite a bit of drama in Sterling to motivate additional gains (at least if we're talking about gains that...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Accounting, Subservicing, Warehouse Products; Freddie and Fannie Changes Roll On
'); document.write('Posted To: Pipeline PressWith only week until Thanksgiving there’s a lot going on – every one of these stats impacts lenders. CoreLogic tells us that there are 48,390 homes at risk from the current California wildfires. Believe in climate change or not, or in science or not, one study shows 386,000 homes are said to be at risk in the coming decades due to rising sea levels and coastal flooding. And according to the RV Industry Association, there are now a million Americans living in RVs full time . (Try counting them in the census, figuring out where they vote, where/if they pay taxes, or if 500 KOA Kampgrounds are enough.) Lender Products and Services As of October 2018, 100 mortgage lenders have signed with Loan Vision to utilize its financial management and accounting solution. Martin Kerr, President...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS RECAP: More Stock Losses Bring More Bond Bounces
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryThe narrative has grown (remained?) the same for bonds lately. If stocks are losing ground, then it's time to rally . If stocks are stabilizing or recovering, it's time to sell . Today was more of the same in that regard. For the first few hours of the day, yields moved gradually higher despite the inability of core inflation to even meet forecast levels (in its defense, it was really really close!). But when stocks began losing ground in a fairly convincing way, bonds began to improve. Stock losses were compounded by headlines surrounding the Brexit process, where there was apparently some drama today regarding Theresa May's cabinet and its ability to agree on the current draft proposal. After a few conflicting reports, it finally came out that there was sufficient agreement. British...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Afternoon Mortgage Rate Improvements For Most Lenders
'); document.write('Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates began the day in roughly unchanged territory. Some lenders were microscopically stronger or weaker compared to yesterday, but not enough to impact the average mortgage borrower. For the first few hours of the day, it looked as if rates would stay unchanged or possibly move slightly higher. That all changed when stocks began losing ground. It\'s always worth remembering (and this will be especially true when the next time it\'s proven) that there\'s no magic rule that says stock prices and interest rates must move in the same direction. It is true that there are frequent examples of such correlation, but there are plenty of other examples where the correlation complete breaks down. All that to say that stock losses helped rates today, but will not always necessarily help rates in...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Millennials Could be Foregoing Equity Wealth
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireWhile reams of research have been done on why members of the Millennial generation are less likely to own a home compared to their baby boomer and Gen X elders at the same age, the Urban Institute (UI) notes that knowing the reasons doesn\'t necessarily shed much light on the potential long-term implications of this behavior. Delaying homeownership , according to UI analysts Jung Hyun Choi and Laurie Goodman, may reduce the wealth the generations\' members will acquire over their lifetime. Goodman and Choi used a dataset called the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) which has tracked individuals since 1968 to identify individuals who reached age 60 between 2003 and 2015 and gather information on their histories, including the age at which they bought their first homes. Half of the older adults...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS Day Ahead: CPI Gets First At-Bat, Then Back to Stocks
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryBonds are actively trying to decide who they are and what they want to do with their lives. Will they be barometers of economic growth and inflation? Or will they be gauges of Fed bond buying and US government bond selling (supply and demand)? The answer is "yes" on both accounts, but as is often the case--especially when yields have been holding at lofty levels--there's a bit of uncertainty as to how much of the future is already priced-in. Put another way, in a rising rate environment where the reasons for the weakness are well known and well anticipated, bonds increasingly ask "are we there yet?" Today brings a fresh update on one of those "reasons for weakness" in the form of October's CPI data. Inflation has also been holding near post-crisis highs...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Mortgage Applications: Refis at Lowest Levels Since 2000
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireMortgage application activity continued to shrink during the week ended November 9. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage application volume dropped by 3.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis when compared to its level on November 2. The index has declined by an aggregate of 9.7 percent since it posted its last increase back on October 19. On an unadjusted basis the index was down 5 percent. The Purchase Index also continued its downhill trend, decreasing 2.3 percent on an adjusted basis to its lowest level since February 2017. The unadjusted Purchase Index fell 5 percent week-over-week and was 3.0 percent lower than the same week in 2017. The Refinance Index decreased 4.3 percent from the previous week to an 18 year low (December 2000)....(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS RECAP: Best Levels in More Than a Week Ahead of CPI
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryCPI (the Consumer Price Index) has been the most relevant economic report on the horizon since the balmy NFP report from 2 weeks back. Reason being: NFP contained a strong wage growth component, and that always generates some fear among bond traders that higher wages will translate to higher inflation. Economists aren't exactly expecting a big uptick in tomorrow's CPI data, but that's precisely why it's been something of a risk. In other words, if CPI were to come in much stronger than expected tomorrow morning, it could dampen spirits in the bond market. Of course CPI could always come in weaker too--which would cast even more doubt on the ability of wages to translate to inflation in the current economic cycle. It's not that it hasn't been happening, just that it hasn't...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Token Improvement For Mortgage Rates
'); document.write('Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates improved by what could only be described as a token amount today. In other words, we\'re not talking about any major changes. In fact, mortgage rates themselves will be unchanged from Friday for almost any scenario. As is so often the case, we can only measure the change in terms of \"effective rates\" (which take upfront costs into consideration). In general, changes in mortgage rates are reserved for big market moves whereas upfront costs and effective rates allow for smaller changes in the overall cost of financing. The bond markets that underlie mortgage rates were closed yesterday for the Veterans Day holiday. In the meantime, the stock market lost ground rather abruptly . At times, bonds (rates) will take cues from stocks--especially when the latter is making a big move lower...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Homes Sales and Prices in California May Have Hit an Affordability Tipping Point
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireIt may be that California, where home prices have exploded over the last few years, has jumped the shark when it comes to affordability. CoreLogic\'s Andrew LePage writes in the company\'s Insights blog that September home sales in the state were the lowest in the country since September2007. The sales report comes in the wake of reports from several sources showing an abrupt slowdown in home price growth in many of the state\'s largest metros. CoreLogic says the state\'s annual gain of 4.1 percent in the median home price statewide was the lowest in more than two years. Coupled with higher mortgages rates, the lack of affordability appears to, in LePage\'s words, have knocked some would-be buyers to the sidelines, unable or unwilling to buy. Sales do historically fade in September as school starts...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Non-QM and Construction Products; Training and Events Nationwide and at Home
'); document.write('Posted To: Pipeline PressPeople vote with their feet. Some population movements are dramatic and garner headlines around the world, others not so much. “About 130,000 more residents left California for other states last year than came here from them…” according to a Sacramento Bee review of the latest census estimates. “They most often went to cheaper, nearby states — and Texas. Since 2001, about 410,000 more people have left California for Texas than arrived from there. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of Oakland.” Perhaps some of those vacated houses will be purchased by Zillow who the Houston Chronicle is telling us is launching a service called Zillow Offers early next year in Houston. Zillow will be making cash offers on homes from qualified sellers and then...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS Day Ahead: Bonds Begin Week With Some Optimism
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryAs of last Thursday, it didn't look like traders were much interested in hearing arguments in favor of bonds. Then, an unexpectedly healthy little rally on Friday kept hope alive going into the 3-day weekend. Now this morning, the week begins with yields a few bps lower still. 10yr yields begin the week below the middle Bollinger Band (a 21-day moving average that serves as a sort of dividing line between a majority of buying and selling sprees. As can be seen in the most recent dip below (middle yellow line), sometimes the buying sprees are short-lived when we're in the midst of a longer-term uptrend in rates. Momentum technicals (the stochastic oscillators at the bottom of the chart) are also in pretty good shape , with a potential bounce shaping up in shorter-term momentum. The message...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
MBS RECAP: Bonds Overcome Producer Inflation But Not The Range
'); document.write('Posted To: MBS CommentaryInteresting day today... It began with a decent overnight rally, mostly led by European bond markets. The first big speed-bump came at 8:30am with the Producer Price Index coming in much hotter than expected. Normally, PPI isn't much of a market mover except in the case of BIG beats/misses. This one fit the bill. Bonds sold-off initially . That much was to be expected, but there would they end the day? The possibilities were endless considering yields were already fairly close to long-term highs. Instead, the 9:30am NYSE open brought a healthy dose of bond buying and a moderate amount of stock selling. European trading continued to play a role until noon when bonds went completely silent ahead of the 3-day Veterans Day Weekend, but not before 10yr yields fell more than 5bps and Fannie 4...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Mortgage Rates Steady Ahead of Holiday Weekend
'); document.write('Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates were mixed today, depending on the lender. Most lenders began the day in slightly worse shape compared to yesterday. Bond markets improved enough by mid-day that many lenders were able to offer positive reprices (new, better rate sheets). Lenders typically don\'t change mortgage rates more than once a day unless underlying markets have moved enough. Lenders who repriced generally ended up slightly better off compared to yesterday. The remainder were in worse shape. On average, rates were unchanged. Bond markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Veterans Day. That means mortgage companies won\'t be available to accept rate locks, and many will be fully closed. When markets fire back up next week, they\'ll soon be able to digest an important report on inflation in the form...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('
Delinquency Recovery Interrupted by Natural Disasters
'); document.write('Posted To: MND NewsWireThe ongoing improvement in mortgage performance hit a slight snag in the third quarter of 2018, one that appears to be disaster related. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said the National Delinquency Survey found the national delinquency rate grew by 11 basis points (bps) from the second quarter to 4.47 percent. This was, however an improvement of 41 bps from the same quarter in 2017. Foreclosure starts continued to decline, dropping 1 bp quarter-over-quarter to 0.23 percent, its lowest level since, not just the recession, but 1985. All loan types saw increased delinquencies for the quarter but were down year-over-year. For the quarter, the rate for conventional loans was also up 11 bps to 3.56 percent while the FHA rate rose 26 bps and the VA rate 19 bps to 8.96 percent and 4.16 percent...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.'); document.write('