Category: Mortgage News Daily

Posted To: MND NewsWireThe Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey (NHS) polls a large panel of consumers monthly about their attitudes toward housing and related topics and generally reports on five or six of the survey’s trendlines. Others of the 100 or so questions form the basis for occasional special reports such as a new one in the company’s Perspectives Blog . Henry Cason, the company’s head of Digital Products, details some new revelations about consumers’ appetite for better digital resources to speed up the mortgage process. Cason says, “As the Amazons and Ubers of the world continue to raise the bar for “consumer-grade” experiences, homebuyers have made it clear that it’s also time for the home purchasing and mortgage processes to change .” While getting a mortgage is much more complex and heavily regulated…(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 NewsWireFreddie Mac analysts see a two-pronged threat to housing sales for the remainder of the year, especially in the previously high-flying western part of the country. The company’s economic outlook for August notes that the ongoing lack of housing supply and the not unrelated affordability issues will probably keep a lid on the growth of home sales going forward. “The housing market hit some speed bumps this summer, with many prospective homebuyers slowed by not enough moderately-priced homes for sale and higher home prices and mortgage rates,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “These challenges were predominantly seen in expensive markets out West, where demand and sales are beginning to dampen because of weakening affordability.” The cooling of the housing market was manifested in…(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 rose again today–this time more noticeably than yesterday–bringing them to the highest levels in more than 2 weeks. For most, however, that sounds a lot worse than it actually is. In fact, the interest rate at the top of a loan quote has a good chance of being the exact same as the any other time during the past 2 weeks. How does that work?! The catch is that the “note rate” (the one that is applied to the principal balance to determine monthly payments–the only rate most people talk or care about, generally) is only part of the equation. There are also upfront costs associated with any given rate. Those costs allow for finer adjustments. Those adjustments technically affect the “effective rate.” So while the interest rate might be unchanged in many cases, the cost of 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 PressAs the East Coast swelters and Hawaii floods, loan officers I’ve spoken to recently believe the high price end in some markets is starting to stall a little bit as markets correct toward normalcy. I’ve spent much of this week in Montana and, as a small random sample, inventory for sale in certain areas is ample. On a bigger scale, nationwide sales of existing, pre-owned homes fell for the fourth consecutive month, with single family home sales falling 0.2 percent for an annual rate of 4.75 million homes. As it stands, homes were on the market an average of 27 days, up from an average of 26 days in June. For a positive thought, want some good PR for your company and for the residential lending biz? Forget cookies – how about helping the local Girl Scout Troop build and sell a Tiny…(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 CommentaryLate June through late July saw 10yr yields trade in the ‘same old range’ with lows centered on 2.81 and highs on 2.89. That range was broken at the end of July but has since come back into fashion thanks to emerging market uncertainty, a slight softening from the Fed, and trade war risks. Until this week, it looked like bonds may have tried to challenge the lower end of that range. Now, as the second day of weakness already looks to be well underway, we’re at more risk of breaking the ceiling than the floor. Progress on trade and all-time high stocks are arguably behind yesterday’s bounce. This morning, a small group of headlines (another snippet about trade with Canada and a new story about a potential German bailout of Turkey ) is adding to the weakness. Unfortunately for…(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 NewsWirePrices slipped in June according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller price indices. The National Index, which covers all nine U.S. Census divisions, showed annual prices were up by 6.4 percent in both April and May but posted only a 6.2 percent increase in June. The month-over-month change was also less aggressive. Before seasonal adjustment that index was up 0.8 percent for the month and 0.3 percent after adjustment. The May gains were 1.1 percent before adjustment and 0.4 percent afterward. The 10-City Composite grew by 6.0 percent year-over-year, down from 6.2 percent the previous month and the 20-City Composite increased by 6.3 percent compared to 6.5 percent in May. On a non-adjusted basis, the two posted monthly changes of 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent respectively and each gained 0.1…(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 NewsWireScholars have long pondered if Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was named after my cat Myrtle, or vice versa – the answer is lost in the shrouds of time. Regardless, if you wonder what $3.4 million can take down in Myrtle Beach, the answer is “the most expensive house for sale .” Of course it’s on the ocean, and you can bet its occupants shudder every time a large iceberg calves in the Arctic. Potential buyers may be hesitant given this story in the Washington Post about how beachfront real estate is losing its luster due to erosion and rising sea levels. Not to mention volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes… Servicing Seller Wanted, and an Offering A unique pool of servicing rights is for sale. The pool is $140 million (approx. 2900 loans) of 100% fixed rate city and…(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 CommentaryEven though quite a few kids are going back to school today, there’s still one week of Summer remaining for the bond market. Labor Day (this upcoming weekend) is a major dividing line. It marks the shifting of gears back into a more serious and focused frame of mind after a few months of being on autopilot . Given the established rarity of big-picture momentum during those months, it’s no surprise to see that we’ve been moving sharply sideways in a range that’s not even 20bps wide in 10yr yields. There’s a case to be made for viewing the technicals and the range boundaries as largely irrelevant at this time of year. Reason being: the next trend that ends up taking shape (as soon as next week) historically doesn’t care what went on during July/August. It’s more likely…(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 for some lenders and lower for others, depending on how that particular lender adjusted their rate sheets on Friday afternoon. While the bonds that underlie mortgage rates are moving constantly throughout the day, lenders want to see a certain amount of movement in any given direction before they go to the trouble of adjusting their mortgage rate offerings. Friday began with weaker bonds. Consequently the first mortgage rate sheets of the day were worse than Thursday’s (i.e. rates were higher). But bonds improved throughout the day–just enough for a handful of lenders to adjust rates lower. Lenders in that “handful” had to move rates back up a bit today. Lenders not in that handful were able to drop rates just a hair from Friday morning’s levels. All this having…(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 CommentaryIt was a straightforward trading day today. Overnight weakness came courtesy of stronger econ data in Germany and the resulting sell-off in European bonds. The rest of the weakness was a product of a ” risk-on ” move stemming from updates on US/Mexico trade relations . As with any risk-on move, stocks rallied at the expense of bonds . To bond market optimists, the weakness wasn’t too terrible considering the fairly strong surge toward new all-time highs in stocks. More cautious players may note that the bounce coincides with technical cues (overbought stochastics, as seen in the Day Ahead , as well as the recent range floor at 2.80-2.82% in 10yr yields) and the risk of more trade progress with Canada. 10yr yields ended the day up 3.25bps from Friday’s latest levels, but up…(read more)Forward this article via email:  Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.