Latest news
23rd June, 25
Best Closing Levels in More Than a Month
Best Closing Levels in More Than a Month Don't look now, but rates just inched their way down to the best levels since the first week of May. It's probably NOT fair to credit geopolitical developments for the bond market improvement. While those developments arguably had an impact at times during the day, they were also arguably a zero sum game by the end of the day (due to a rapid de-escalation of armed conflict). What's left over is the improvement seen earlier in the day due to the shift in Fed Funds Rate expectations after comments from Bowman. This no doubt
Best Closing Levels in More Than a Month
Best Closing Levels in More Than a Month Don't look now, but rates just inched their way down to the best levels since the first week of May. It's probably NOT fair to credit geopolitical developments for the bond market improvement. While those developments arguably had an impact at times during the day, they were also arguably a zero sum game by the end of the day (due to a rapid de-escalation of armed conflict). What's left over is the improvement seen earlier in the day due to the shift in Fed Funds Rate expectations after comments from Bowman. This no doubt
23rd June, 25
Mortgage Rates Lowest Since May 1st
Mortgage rates ended the previous week roughly in line with the best levels since May 1st. Today's modest improvement made it official. Mortgage rates are primarily a function of trading levels in the bond market and bonds have had a few reasons to move at the start of the new week. There's a small case to be made that U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran contributed to bond market strength and, thus, lower mortgage rates today. Less debatable is the fact that Fed Vice Chair Bowman commented on the possibility of cutting rates at the July meeting. This
Mortgage Rates Lowest Since May 1st
Mortgage rates ended the previous week roughly in line with the best levels since May 1st. Today's modest improvement made it official. Mortgage rates are primarily a function of trading levels in the bond market and bonds have had a few reasons to move at the start of the new week. There's a small case to be made that U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran contributed to bond market strength and, thus, lower mortgage rates today. Less debatable is the fact that Fed Vice Chair Bowman commented on the possibility of cutting rates at the July meeting. This
23rd June, 25
HELOCs and 2nds, Doc Tracking, Execution, POS, Webinars and Training; Rates Steady Despite Iran Conflict
For many, business is slow out there, and the industry waits for the House vote on the abusive trigger lead bill. Depository banks continue to focus on residential lending in their own footprint while scaling back distant originations, and IMBs continue to look at staffing with a critical eye. A safe prediction is that this will continue, although people have grown more skeptical of others making predictions to grab headlines. A recession has yet to materialize, nor has a tidal wave of delinquencies and foreclosures. In fact, quite the opposite: The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter
HELOCs and 2nds, Doc Tracking, Execution, POS, Webinars and Training; Rates Steady Despite Iran Conflict
For many, business is slow out there, and the industry waits for the House vote on the abusive trigger lead bill. Depository banks continue to focus on residential lending in their own footprint while scaling back distant originations, and IMBs continue to look at staffing with a critical eye. A safe prediction is that this will continue, although people have grown more skeptical of others making predictions to grab headlines. A recession has yet to materialize, nor has a tidal wave of delinquencies and foreclosures. In fact, quite the opposite: The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter
23rd June, 25
Bonds Don't Always React to "War" Like You'd Expect
A vast majority of long-time bond watchers share the same general understanding of how war impacts rates. Specifically, the increased global economic uncertainty drives safe-haven demand for US Treasuries, thus helping rates. While this CAN be true, it's not a hard and fast rule. Consider the Russia/Ukraine example in which an initial drop in rates gave way to a paradoxical spike due to inflation implications. Keen observers anticipated a similar risk over the weekend with respect to oil prices. Alas! Not only have oil prices barely budged over the weekend, but bonds didn't respond as expected
Bonds Don't Always React to "War" Like You'd Expect
A vast majority of long-time bond watchers share the same general understanding of how war impacts rates. Specifically, the increased global economic uncertainty drives safe-haven demand for US Treasuries, thus helping rates. While this CAN be true, it's not a hard and fast rule. Consider the Russia/Ukraine example in which an initial drop in rates gave way to a paradoxical spike due to inflation implications. Keen observers anticipated a similar risk over the weekend with respect to oil prices. Alas! Not only have oil prices barely budged over the weekend, but bonds didn't respond as expected
20th June, 25
Underwhelming (But Friendly) Conclusion
Underwhelming (But Friendly) Conclusion The present week didn't manage to offer nearly as much excitement as the previous few examples, but that's not necessarily a bad thing considering yields/rates are near the lower boundary of their recent ranges. Today looked like it may have been a higher rate day at the start of the session, but bonds arrested the selling trend and reversed course after dovish comments from Fed's Waller. Europe's close was also beneficial for US bonds, helping us get all the way back into modestly stronger territory before trading levels flat-lined into the U
Underwhelming (But Friendly) Conclusion
Underwhelming (But Friendly) Conclusion The present week didn't manage to offer nearly as much excitement as the previous few examples, but that's not necessarily a bad thing considering yields/rates are near the lower boundary of their recent ranges. Today looked like it may have been a higher rate day at the start of the session, but bonds arrested the selling trend and reversed course after dovish comments from Fed's Waller. Europe's close was also beneficial for US bonds, helping us get all the way back into modestly stronger territory before trading levels flat-lined into the U
20th June, 25
Housing Starts Slide in May, But Single-Family Holds Steady
The latest Residential Construction report from the Census Bureau showed a noticeable drop in overall housing starts in May, though single-family activity managed a small gain. Building permits also declined, continuing a trend of slight cooling in new construction momentum. As usual, the market focuses most on building permits and housing starts , with the latter representing the beginning of actual construction activity. Total starts fell nearly 10% to an annual pace of 1.256 million , down from 1.392 million in April. The decline was almost entirely due to a sharp drop in multifamily starts
Housing Starts Slide in May, But Single-Family Holds Steady
The latest Residential Construction report from the Census Bureau showed a noticeable drop in overall housing starts in May, though single-family activity managed a small gain. Building permits also declined, continuing a trend of slight cooling in new construction momentum. As usual, the market focuses most on building permits and housing starts , with the latter representing the beginning of actual construction activity. Total starts fell nearly 10% to an annual pace of 1.256 million , down from 1.392 million in April. The decline was almost entirely due to a sharp drop in multifamily starts
20th June, 25
Mortgage Applications Slip Despite Lower Rates
Mortgage application activity declined modestly last week despite a drop in rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. The Composite Index fell 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 13, with both purchase and refinance activity posting week-over-week declines. “Even with lower average mortgage rates, applications declined over the week as ongoing economic uncertainty weighed on potential homebuyers’ purchase decisions,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. Refinance applications were down 2% from the
Mortgage Applications Slip Despite Lower Rates
Mortgage application activity declined modestly last week despite a drop in rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. The Composite Index fell 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 13, with both purchase and refinance activity posting week-over-week declines. “Even with lower average mortgage rates, applications declined over the week as ongoing economic uncertainty weighed on potential homebuyers’ purchase decisions,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. Refinance applications were down 2% from the
20th June, 25
Homebuilder Sentiment Just a Bit Gloomier
Builder sentiment declined for the second straight month according to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo's latest Housing Market Index (HMI). The headline index dropped two points to 32 in June, marking another step down toward the post-pandemic lows seen in 2023. All three components of the index moved lower: Current sales conditions fell two points to 35 Sales expectations for the next 6 months dipped to 40 Buyer traffic dropped to 21 Persistent affordability challenges—namely high mortgage rates and tariff-related material costs—remain major headwinds. As
Homebuilder Sentiment Just a Bit Gloomier
Builder sentiment declined for the second straight month according to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo's latest Housing Market Index (HMI). The headline index dropped two points to 32 in June, marking another step down toward the post-pandemic lows seen in 2023. All three components of the index moved lower: Current sales conditions fell two points to 35 Sales expectations for the next 6 months dipped to 40 Buyer traffic dropped to 21 Persistent affordability challenges—namely high mortgage rates and tariff-related material costs—remain major headwinds. As
20th June, 25
Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
With Thursday being a federal holiday, banks (and more importantly, the underlying market for mortgage related bonds) were closed. This means that lenders were not able to update mortgage rates. It turns out that it wouldn't have mattered either way as the average lender has barely budged from Wednesday's levels. But let's not miss an opportunity to deliver news that's technically good even if only just. Over the past 3 business days, average rates have fallen 0.05%. This keeps us close to the lowest levels seen since April 4th with top tier 30yr fixed scenarios
Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
With Thursday being a federal holiday, banks (and more importantly, the underlying market for mortgage related bonds) were closed. This means that lenders were not able to update mortgage rates. It turns out that it wouldn't have mattered either way as the average lender has barely budged from Wednesday's levels. But let's not miss an opportunity to deliver news that's technically good even if only just. Over the past 3 business days, average rates have fallen 0.05%. This keeps us close to the lowest levels seen since April 4th with top tier 30yr fixed scenarios
20th June, 25
Digital HELOC, Appraisal Review Products; Background AI; Hurricane Season is Here; Rates Holding Steady
Happy Summer Solstice, and happy 50th birthday to the movie Jaws. Back then, for security, all we had to remember was where we hid our house key, or the combo to the lock on our school locker. Now, our dozens of logins and passwords are regularly either forgotten or stolen, the latest being 16 billion credentials stolen, announced this week. In other IT news, a few CIOs have written to me to point out that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that the Senate is debating contains a 10-year moratorium on changes to state artificial intelligence (AI) laws. 10 years? Given the rate of change
Digital HELOC, Appraisal Review Products; Background AI; Hurricane Season is Here; Rates Holding Steady
Happy Summer Solstice, and happy 50th birthday to the movie Jaws. Back then, for security, all we had to remember was where we hid our house key, or the combo to the lock on our school locker. Now, our dozens of logins and passwords are regularly either forgotten or stolen, the latest being 16 billion credentials stolen, announced this week. In other IT news, a few CIOs have written to me to point out that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that the Senate is debating contains a 10-year moratorium on changes to state artificial intelligence (AI) laws. 10 years? Given the rate of change
Mortgage AgentAnkit ParekhLocation ScarboroughLicense M23004851- 
