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27th July, 26
Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged Versus Friday's Lows
After bottoming out around 6.5% in late June, mortgage rates moved steadily higher this month, ultimately hitting 6.85% last Thursday--the highest level in over a year. There was a modest recovery on Friday with a fair amount of intraday changes from the average mortgage lender. Because rates are based on bonds, it's worth noting that bonds are in better shape today compared to Friday's latest levels. But if we use Friday's stronger mid-day levels as a baseline, bonds are just barely stronger. As such, it's no surprise to see mortgage rates just barely lower. The key consideration for
Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged Versus Friday's Lows
After bottoming out around 6.5% in late June, mortgage rates moved steadily higher this month, ultimately hitting 6.85% last Thursday--the highest level in over a year. There was a modest recovery on Friday with a fair amount of intraday changes from the average mortgage lender. Because rates are based on bonds, it's worth noting that bonds are in better shape today compared to Friday's latest levels. But if we use Friday's stronger mid-day levels as a baseline, bonds are just barely stronger. As such, it's no surprise to see mortgage rates just barely lower. The key consideration for
27th July, 26
DSCR, HELOC, Market Analysis, Pricing Rule Tools; FHA, HUD, Ginnie Changes
In 2025, the IMF reported that, across the globe, companies, households, and countries had amassed $251 trillion in debt. Looking toward the end of 2026, J.P. Morgan has warned that interest rates on such borrowings are set to spike, owing largely to dwindling populations and diminishing fiscal discipline. JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang and team unpacked the “six D’s” that will shape the global economy under the current and surrounding Administrations: Deficits, deregulation, de-carbonization, de-population, de-globalization, and de-dollarization. Of these factors, two in particular will put
DSCR, HELOC, Market Analysis, Pricing Rule Tools; FHA, HUD, Ginnie Changes
In 2025, the IMF reported that, across the globe, companies, households, and countries had amassed $251 trillion in debt. Looking toward the end of 2026, J.P. Morgan has warned that interest rates on such borrowings are set to spike, owing largely to dwindling populations and diminishing fiscal discipline. JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang and team unpacked the “six D’s” that will shape the global economy under the current and surrounding Administrations: Deficits, deregulation, de-carbonization, de-population, de-globalization, and de-dollarization. Of these factors, two in particular will put
27th July, 26
Less Bombing. More Rallying
It's a pretty simple morning for the bond market (and many other markets). While there's no formal ceasefire, both the U.S. and Iran have indicated a pause in the tit for tat airstrikes that have characterized most of July. Oil dropped sharply on the news though it's not clear exactly how much because markets were fully closed at the time. Still, it's safe to assume a majority of the move in oil/bonds/stocks is directly correlated. This gets 10yr yields just back under the upper line of the long-term trend channel after spending the last 2 days above. Econ data was a non-event this morning,
Less Bombing. More Rallying
It's a pretty simple morning for the bond market (and many other markets). While there's no formal ceasefire, both the U.S. and Iran have indicated a pause in the tit for tat airstrikes that have characterized most of July. Oil dropped sharply on the news though it's not clear exactly how much because markets were fully closed at the time. Still, it's safe to assume a majority of the move in oil/bonds/stocks is directly correlated. This gets 10yr yields just back under the upper line of the long-term trend channel after spending the last 2 days above. Econ data was a non-event this morning,
24th July, 26
How Technical Do You Want to Be?
How Technical Do You Want to Be? There are always multiple technical lenses through which to view market movement, but the simplest involve trendlines and level lines. Yield movement has largely held inside the same high/low trendlines since October 2025, so that's a useful trend to keep tabs on the big picture. On a separate note, it's almost always worthwhile to keep tabs on the most recent long-term highs/lows. The past 2 days have seen yields flirt with both of these technical frameworks. Yesterday, we broke above the upper trendline and the long-term high. Today, we recovered under the
How Technical Do You Want to Be?
How Technical Do You Want to Be? There are always multiple technical lenses through which to view market movement, but the simplest involve trendlines and level lines. Yield movement has largely held inside the same high/low trendlines since October 2025, so that's a useful trend to keep tabs on the big picture. On a separate note, it's almost always worthwhile to keep tabs on the most recent long-term highs/lows. The past 2 days have seen yields flirt with both of these technical frameworks. Yesterday, we broke above the upper trendline and the long-term high. Today, we recovered under the
24th July, 26
Mortgage Rates Recover Modestly From Long-Term Highs
If you're just tuning in, mortgage rates had a rough day yesterday on top of a rough week overall. The result was the highest 30yr fixed rate in over a year with our index moving up to 6.85%. As has been and continues to be the case, rate momentum has been strongly correlated with oil/gas price momentum. With that in mind, it's no surprise to see rates moving lower on a day where oil prices recovered from their recent highs. That's the good news, and it brings the rate index down 0.04% to 6.81%. The not-so-good news is that 6.81% is still the highest in more than a year apart from
Mortgage Rates Recover Modestly From Long-Term Highs
If you're just tuning in, mortgage rates had a rough day yesterday on top of a rough week overall. The result was the highest 30yr fixed rate in over a year with our index moving up to 6.85%. As has been and continues to be the case, rate momentum has been strongly correlated with oil/gas price momentum. With that in mind, it's no surprise to see rates moving lower on a day where oil prices recovered from their recent highs. That's the good news, and it brings the rate index down 0.04% to 6.81%. The not-so-good news is that 6.81% is still the highest in more than a year apart from
24th July, 26
New Home Sales Regain Some Lost Ground
New home sales rebounded modestly in June, recovering some of the previous month's decline, though activity remained below year-ago levels as elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges continued to weigh on demand. According to the latest Census Bureau and HUD data, sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000 , up 1.6% from May but 5.6% lower than one year earlier. In the bigger picture, this sector has been broadly flat ever since the post-covid volatility died down in early 2023. Inventory edged slightly lower during the month. The number
New Home Sales Regain Some Lost Ground
New home sales rebounded modestly in June, recovering some of the previous month's decline, though activity remained below year-ago levels as elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges continued to weigh on demand. According to the latest Census Bureau and HUD data, sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000 , up 1.6% from May but 5.6% lower than one year earlier. In the bigger picture, this sector has been broadly flat ever since the post-covid volatility died down in early 2023. Inventory edged slightly lower during the month. The number
24th July, 26
Refis Take a Back Seat as Purchase Demand Rebounds
Mortgage application activity rebounded last week as stronger home purchase demand offset a modest decline in refinancing, even with borrowing costs climbing to their highest level since last August. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 1.9% increase in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 17. Purchase applications increased 6% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis and were 0.2% higher than the same week one year ago. The gain suggests that improving housing inventory continues to support buyer activity despite elevated
Refis Take a Back Seat as Purchase Demand Rebounds
Mortgage application activity rebounded last week as stronger home purchase demand offset a modest decline in refinancing, even with borrowing costs climbing to their highest level since last August. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 1.9% increase in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 17. Purchase applications increased 6% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis and were 0.2% higher than the same week one year ago. The gain suggests that improving housing inventory continues to support buyer activity despite elevated
24th July, 26
AI, Non-QM Products; Deep Dive on AI; Morgan Stanley Interview on Risk
Odds are, anything you buy was transported using diesel fuel, the price of which has shot up after Russia banned exports of it, impacting farmers, trains, trucks… kind of nearly everything. Today is “Pie and Beer” Day in Utah, aka Pioneer Day, and having parades is costly. It was also celebrated last year, and the year before, and the year before. What were we talking about a year ago? We were interested in how FHA and VA wanted early payoffs when loans traded below par. At that point, JPMorgan Chase was very active in MBS issuance, and most banks preferred short duration products like
AI, Non-QM Products; Deep Dive on AI; Morgan Stanley Interview on Risk
Odds are, anything you buy was transported using diesel fuel, the price of which has shot up after Russia banned exports of it, impacting farmers, trains, trucks… kind of nearly everything. Today is “Pie and Beer” Day in Utah, aka Pioneer Day, and having parades is costly. It was also celebrated last year, and the year before, and the year before. What were we talking about a year ago? We were interested in how FHA and VA wanted early payoffs when loans traded below par. At that point, JPMorgan Chase was very active in MBS issuance, and most banks preferred short duration products like
24th July, 26
Token Support in Bonds After Oil Drops Overnight
It's a straightforward morning in the bond market. We're not seeing any of the sorts of "unseen hand" trading that accounted for the timing of yesterday's pre-market weakness. We simply have oil prices erasing about half of yesterday's rise. Bond yields are trying their best to be able to say the same, but they're not recovering quite as much as oil. It doesn't much matter. If anything, it's reassuring to see the correlation persist as it underpins the expectation that bonds are at least capable of a better recovery if oil moves back down to/toward June's levels. Econ data is very light.
Token Support in Bonds After Oil Drops Overnight
It's a straightforward morning in the bond market. We're not seeing any of the sorts of "unseen hand" trading that accounted for the timing of yesterday's pre-market weakness. We simply have oil prices erasing about half of yesterday's rise. Bond yields are trying their best to be able to say the same, but they're not recovering quite as much as oil. It doesn't much matter. If anything, it's reassuring to see the correlation persist as it underpins the expectation that bonds are at least capable of a better recovery if oil moves back down to/toward June's levels. Econ data is very light.
23rd July, 26
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives Oil lurched higher again overnight which kept generalized pressure on the bond market and the Fed rate outlook. The nearness to long-term highs had traders feeling very reluctant to step in and "buy the dip" in bond prices. This is the kind of move you'd rather see play out in full before reloading TSY longs. Complicating factors included earnings season (and the prospect for corporate issuance detracting from TSY/MBS demand), pre-ECB defensiveness, and MBS-specific underperformance. The latter could simply be the result of a line in the sand being
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives Oil lurched higher again overnight which kept generalized pressure on the bond market and the Fed rate outlook. The nearness to long-term highs had traders feeling very reluctant to step in and "buy the dip" in bond prices. This is the kind of move you'd rather see play out in full before reloading TSY longs. Complicating factors included earnings season (and the prospect for corporate issuance detracting from TSY/MBS demand), pre-ECB defensiveness, and MBS-specific underperformance. The latter could simply be the result of a line in the sand being