Category: Mortgage News Daily

Posted To: MBS CommentaryAugust was nice. September is mean… at least if you’re a bond. Investors wanted you in August when it was still unclear whether or not Turkey was going to be a big deal for the global financial system, whether the trade war would spiral out of control, or whether the EU was seeing a disturbing shift in economic data. What a difference a few weeks makes! Europe has reversed course, Turkey is “fixed,” we’ve had some very strong econ data, and trade war risks are roughly unchanged (which is positive in and of itself, because it means they’re not blossoming into the dire situations feared by some). Bottom line, no one wants to pay very much for bonds right now. A moderately big miss in Retail Sales isn’t even enough for a token Friday morning rally. Paradoxically though…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MND NewsWireEven as Hurricane Florence is pushing unprecedented levels of flood waters into North and South Carolina homes, CoreLogic is issuing estimates regarding the storm’s dollar costs. Their analysis shows that insured property losses for both residential and commercial properties will be between $3 and $5 billion. CoreLogic basis its estimates on the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. September 13 track of the storm and the cone of uncertainty. Florence made landfall mid-morning on September 14 near New Bern, North Carolina and 250,000 homes in that state are projected to be affected by the hurricane. Losses in North Carolina are estimated to be between $2.5 and $4.5 billion and South Carolina is expected to suffer to the tune of $0.3 to $0.5 billion. This includes wind damage and the storm surge…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MBS CommentaryThe question posed in the title is just a bit too big for us to cover in this humble “day ahead” post, but we can touch on a few key points. I just thought it was a good time to revisit it, given that 10yr yields are beginning the day once-again approaching the 3% barrier–something they’ve only done a few times since hitting all-time lows. Following rate movement on a daily basis lends itself to overanalysis. In the biggest of pictures, the rate reality we’re seeing today is largely the byproduct of plans set in motion a year ago. Specifically, the tax bill that materialized last September did more than anything else to precipitate the slow-motion train wreck that we’ve lived through as stakeholders in an industry that’s highly dependent on rates. This is easily seen…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: Pipeline Press“Rob, the number of vendors at mortgage conferences seems to be growing. Any idea how many vendors (vs. lenders) there are?” I had no idea but turned to Ginger Bell who keeps up with such things. She replied, “We’ve counted more than 1,400 that are specific to residential lending! And that doesn’t even count those outside of the industry that lenders may use such as insurance, payroll, etc.” Good luck keeping up with them. If your company doesn’t have a dedicated vendor manager, who’s in charge of deciding if, why, where, and when to use certain vendors? The CEO? Does she have time for vetting them? Vendor News Block66 recently announced the creation of a platform that aims to reduce mortgage fraud by imbuing the mortgage origination process with…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MND NewsWireWhile applications for financing new home purchases declined in August, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting a bump in the month’s new home sales. The MBA’s Builder Applications Survey (BAS) data for August show mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased 2.0 percent from applications in July and were down 4.6 percent compared to August 2017. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. Based on the information from the BAS as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors, MBA estimates new single-family home sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 669,000 units during the month. This is a 5.0 percent improvement over the July pace of 637,000. The MBA estimates that 53,000 new homes sold during the…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: Pipeline Press“Rob, would you happen to have a suggestion as to where I can find information as to the number of HUD loans done on manufactured housing last year, or by month?” Ah, the ol’ Title I activity query. The MBA’s Mr. Michael Fratantoni recommends that anyone needing that kind of thing take a look at these monthly production reports from HUD . For example, Table 3 tracks Title I activity. Originator Events Does your company have a corporate rate for Sales Mastery 2018: Game Changers? In less than four weeks, Todd Duncan’s Sales Mastery Event kicks off in San Diego, and it’s not too late to secure your seat at a discounted price! Leaders that register 20 or more attendees save $300 per ticket and each attendee will receive Free Digital Access FOR LIFE to Sales…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MBS CommentaryRight off the bat, with respect to the headline, I’ll let you know that the answer is going to be “it depends.” More on that in a moment. Bonds are starting the day in stronger territory after a weaker CPI reading and a tame European Central Bank announcement. By the end of the day, we’ll have made it through the week’s Treasury auction cycle, and a majority of the corporate debt issuance. All of the above is cause for moderation of the recent pace of bond market weakness. In the bigger picture, it looks like it has a very good chance to coincide with a technical ceiling that has come into play more than any other in 2018. For this chart, we’re looking at WEEKLY candlesticks. Believe it or not, market strategists do indeed look at closing levels and other technical…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe risk of mortgage fraud jumped by 12.4 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter in which it has increased . CoreLogic said its Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index now puts the rate of fraud at 0.92 percent or one of every 109 mortgage applications received. In the second quarter of last year the index was 0.82 percent or 1 in 122 applications. The increase was present in all market segments, but the segment for conforming mortgages with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 80 percent or less experienced the largest. Purchase applications overall grew more than refinances with the exception of jumbo refis, possibly because that segment suffered the largest decline in volume. Jumbo refinances had an index of 266 while purchase applications overall were at…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates fell modestly today, following a weaker-than-expected report on inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices that consumers pay for various goods. The widely followed “core” reading (which ignores more volatile food and energy prices) fell to an annual pace of 2.2%. Economists were expecting that number to remain at 2.4%. Lower inflation is good for rates because rates are based on the bond market. Bond investors are paying a lump sum today in exchange for a fixed schedule of payments in the future. Higher inflation means the money they receive in the future may have less buying power. When inflation is expected to rise, bond investors therefore demand higher premiums–another way of saying they’re charging higher interest rates to borrowers. In the…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

Posted To: MBS CommentaryBond markets were clearly interested in today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. It generated a larger single minute of volume than the minute following last Friday’s NFP report (the one that caused bonds to tank due to the wage growth component). Given the much weaker reading, it was no surprise to see bonds rally fairly well for the next hour. The surprises showed up from there on out, however. Rising European bond yields and advancing equities caused a quick correction for Treasuries and MBS–both of which briefly returned to negative territory. We managed to shake off the weakness as the European session wound down, but without making it back to the better levels of the day. No matter! Perhaps investors were waiting to digest the 30yr bond auction. But the auction was no help. Even…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.