MBS Live Recap: What do we Make of Today's Bond Bounce?
Thursday, January 27, 2022
What do we Make of Today's Bond Bounce? After a big sell-off in response to yesterday's Fed announcement, bonds rallied back today. The gains were slow and steady at first, but the pace quickened at 9:30am (a popular time of day for increased momentum in bonds, even though it's the NYSE ope... .. read more..
Conforming Conventional Updates; Lender and Broker Services; The Fed Has Spoken
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Overheard in the hallway: “My email got hacked again. That’s now the third time I’ve had to rename the cat.” But there’s a lot of other conversation and session topics here in the hallways at the IMB in Nashville. Discussion about the rapidity of the Federal Reserve’s moves in attempting to comba... .. read more..
Freddie Mac Purchased $1.3 Trillion in Loans Last Year
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 13.1 percent in December compared to a 12.0 percent gain in November. The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $3.246 trillion compared to $3.211 trillion the prior month and $2.784 trill... .. read more..
MBS Live Morning: Nice Bounce Back in Both Sides of The Market. Sellers Losin...
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Stocks and bonds both sold off in response to yesterday's Fed events. Stocks weakened a bit more in the overnight session, but have been bouncing back swiftly since 2am. Treasuries started out slightly stronger and have steadily improved into domestic hours. Less than 2 hours in... .. read more..
Pending Sales Faded Along with Inventory in December
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Pending home sales fell for the second month in December and are finishing up the year well below their December 2020 level. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home Sale Index (PHSI) was down 3.8 percent from November and is 6.9 percent below its level at the end of the ... .. read more..
Rates Jump to New 2-Year Highs After Fed Announcement
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Fed policy is critically important to interest rates and January has marked a shift in the Fed policy outlook. In not so many words, the Fed sees itself hiking rates and decreasing its bond purchased more quickly than previously expected. It has conveyed this in various ways sin... .. read more..
MBS Live Recap: Fed Stays Course on Policy Tightening and Rates Don't Like It
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Fed Stays Course on Policy Tightening; Calls Out MBS As expected, the Fed announcement did nothing to alter the outlook for impending rate hikes starting in March and balance sheet normalization starting some time after rate hikes. The only somewhat surprising development was a specific men... .. read more..
MBS Live Commentary: Differences Between Previous and Current FOMC Statements
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators Indicators of economic activity and emplo... .. read more..
New Home Inventory Rises 58% Year-Over-Year
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
New home sales finished the year less spectacularly than they started it, but the 11.9 percent month-over-month increase was the best since last March. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that newly constructed homes sold during the month at a seasonall... .. read more..
Company Sponsored Webinars; Vendor Products; Apps Drop; Bonds Tread Water to ...
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
One conversation topic not in the hallways here at the MBA’s Independent Mortgage Banker Conference in Tennessee is the death of the original voice of Charlie Brown. The huge cost of health care is, however, and lenders can lower costs by negotiating. “Votre grand-mère donne de superbes massages!... .. read more..
MBS Live Morning: Fed Day! Here's What Matters
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Recent major Fed communications have had a tendency to stoke the fires of momentum in the bond market. This began in earnest in September. Not every meeting or meeting minutes release has been bad for bonds, but almost all of them have resulted in some movement. Today's should be... .. read more..
Refi Applications Plunge to Two-Year Low as Rates Surge
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Even for a week containing a holiday, last week was a bad one. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 7.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased ... .. read more..
Mortgage Rates Remain Exceptionally Stubborn Ahead of Fed
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
It's a tale as old as time for those who closely follow the day to day gyrations in the mortgage market. Bond volatility forces lenders to raise rates fairly quickly. Lenders then wait for market gains AND stability before adjusting rates back toward previous levels. Even then, ... .. read more..
MBS Live Recap: Intraday Volatility But Mostly For Treasuries; Fed On Deck
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Intraday Volatility But Mostly For Treasuries; Fed On Deck Bonds began the day trading right in line with yesterday afternoon's higher yields (or lower prices). The first two hours saw a decent rally with trading levels nearly returning to yesterday's stronger range. A bounce in stock... .. read more..
Fannie & Freddie Updates; Automation/Pricing/LOS Products
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Numbers are interesting things. “1” is the number of dogs, that I know of, rescued by a drone dragging a sausage and leading the dog to safety out of a mud flat. “38.2” was the United States’ median age in 2018. (Yes, half above, half below… and it is up from 37.2 in 2010.) “$9 trillion” is the F... .. read more..