Category: Mortgage News Daily

Posted To: MND NewsWirePurchase applications increased slightly during the week ended August 31, but overall mortgage activity fell slightly according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Its Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, was down 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the prior week. On an unadjusted basis the index lost 2.0 percent. Purchase mortgage activity gained 1.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis heading into the Labor Day weekend but was down 2.0 percent unadjusted. The unadjusted index held on to a 2.0 percent advantage over the same week in 2017. The Refinance Index fell by 1.0 percent from its level during the week ended August 24. The share of applications that were for refinancing however increased from 38.7 percent to 38.9 percent. Refi Index vs…(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 CommentarySome economic reports matter when it comes to bond market movement potential, and many don’t. The tricky thing about econ data is that reports that HAVE had an impact in the past can easily get caught up in a newfound cycle of irrelevance. Take Jobless Claims for example. No one could care any less about it today whereas it was one of the most consistent bellwethers of the recession 10 years ago. Granted, it will have it’s day in the sun again at some point, but it’s not on any bond trader’s radar at the moment–st least not in a capacity that informs present day trading decisions. How about today’s data? Also the MBA’s Mortgage Market Index may be relevant to us in the industry, this is also not a market mover for bonds. International Trade is a tough report to categorize…(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 PressIf we’ve learned anything in the last ten years, it’s rarely a good thing when a lender is the focus of a story in the mainstream press, and this is no exception: “CashCall stopped making loans, but its founder, targeted by regulators, is still in the business” states the headline in a story about John Paul Reddam’s business interests. There’s always LoanMe, right? Uh, not so fast states the article . Other lenders are not in the headlines, and continue to eke out every basis point and look at expanding their product lines. Many of these are very interested in what is happening with affordable lending and here is a primer on the topic for a basic grasp of the topic. Lender Tax News CHLA submitted this comment letter on whether independent mortgage bankers…(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 have only been moving higher gradually , but things are adding up . Today’s move brings them to the highest levels in nearly a month. In recent weeks, I’ve made it a point to qualify the actual pace of the movement by drawing a distinction between actual interest rates and the upfront costs associated with those rates. Because mortgage lenders tend to offer rates in 0.125% increments , it takes a certain amount of market movement before the average loan applicant would see a change in their quoted rate. But bond markets are moving every day. Upfront costs allow lenders a way to fine tune a loan quote. How many days can we see small increases in these upfront costs before actual interest rates begin to change? As it happens, today is probably the first day where a majority of…(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 CommentaryFor the bond market, September and/or October often see bigger moves than the preceding summertime months. There are notable exceptions, to be sure, but in general, the Fall tends to do a few things in a particular order of prevalence. More Prevalent: 1. Push yields back in the other direction if they’ve been moving one direction for most of the year 2. Push yields quickly higher or lower if they’ve been consolidating for more than a few months Less Prevalent: 1. Add emphasis to an existing rally or sell-off 2. Continue a consolidation for several more months. 2018 is definitely a year that sets up the Fall months with an existing consolidation. That can be seen in the converging yellow lines in the following chart. The chart also shows slow stochastics at the bottom–a momentum indicator…(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 NewsWire”Go West” may not be the best advice for someone in search of elbow room. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says that housing lot sizes are shrinking everywhere , but they are smallest in the Pacific and Mountain divisions, and in the furthest west division of the South. The median lot size for a new single-family detached home was 10,000 square feet in 1992. Ten years later it had fallen under 9,000 square feet but shot back up during both the housing boom and the housing crisis (our guess, because fewer lower priced homes were being built) before resuming a gradual but fairly steady decline. In 2015 the median size fell under 8,600 square feet for the first time since the advent of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). The 2017 survey puts the median lot size nationwide…(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 NewsWireSpending on residential construction continued to outpace construction in general in July although new home construction appeared to falter . The U.S. Census Bureau reports that total spending on construction during the month was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.315 trillion. This is a 0.1 percent improvement over the revised June estimate of $1.314 trillion and is up 5.8 percent compared to July 2017, with the percentage gains coming from public sector projects. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis total construction spending during the month was $121,473 billion compared to $118,737 billion in June. For the year-to-date (TYD) through the end of July there have been expenditures of 740,485 billion, a 5.2 percent increase over the same period last year. Privately funding construction…(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 moved higher today , reversing the improvement seen last Friday. The average lender is now back in line with their highest levels of the past few weeks, although that statement requires some qualification. During that time, mortgage rates have been in such a narrow range that we can only measure day-to-day changes in terms of upfront closing costs/credits. Actual interest rates haven’t moved, but “effective rates” are back at recent highs. The net effect is that it would require several hundred additional dollars for every $100k financed in upfront costs to get the same interest rate. Part of the problem today–depending on your point of view–was exceptionally strong economic data. While it’s good news for the economy, such data is generally bad for rates and today was no exception…(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 CommentaryFrom a calendar standpoint, there were two notable features today. It was the first trading day in September–a month that often sees “something new” happen after bonds trudge through the summer doldrums. It was also notable due to the scheduled economic data, which saw ISM Manufacturing hit the best levels in 14 years. Neither turned out to be bond-friendly! The super-strong econ data is super easy to understand in terms of of “not being bond-friendly.” After all, strong data is a long time nemesis of low rates and ISM is among the few top tier reports after the mighty NFP. As such, it’s no surprise to see rates moving higher after a 14-year high in ISM Manufacturing. But rates were already under pressure before ISM came out. That’s where the plain old calendar…(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 PressAs Gordon bears down on the Gulf Coast, we’re 2/3 of the way through the 3rd quarter of 2018 already. How’d that happen? Looking ahead, most employed folks will have either Columbus Day (10/8) or Veterans Day (11/12) off, or both. For those of you who don’t, well, it is a long 55 business days until Thanksgiving. In other updates, and let me know if you’ve heard this song, here’s another stab at brokers, although all originators should take note an Australian startup is looking to connect borrowers and lenders on an online platform that not only finds a home loan but auctions off the customer to the best offer. Upcoming Events Kurt Reisig, Chairman of American Pacific Mortgage, and Bill Lowman, CEO, invite you to APM’s 2018 Fall Symposium: The Power of You…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.