Mortgage rates didn’t have a great day today, moving even higher from what were already the worst levels in a month as of yesterday afternoon. In and of itself, this single day wasn’t any more dramatic than the average “bad day,” but taken together with the past 3 days and the assessment is more grim. Simply put, this is now …

In the day just passed, bonds kicked into higher gear with respect to the correction that began to materialize last Thursday. If you feel like you missed the signs, go back and read the second half of this post: Beware The Bounce . Several of the commentary articles after that spoke about additional confirmation of the shift in increasingly stern …

Mortgage rates and the broader bond market are both in the midst of a correction after hitting the best levels in more than 3 years last week. This is a correction that many market watchers were worried about on several occasions in August. But every time it looked like rates had bottomed, it only took a few days of indecision …

The Treasury Department released the Trump Administration’s long-awaited plan for reforming the nation’s housing finance system on Thursday. Treasury says the Plan “includes nearly 50 recommended legislative and administrative reforms to define a limited role for the Federal Government in the housing finance system, enhance taxpayer protections against future bailouts, and promote competition in the housing finance system .” The …

In the day just passed, the bond market endured a bit of selling pressure courtesy of various overseas developments and an onslaught of corporate bond issuance. Treasuries were resilient in the face of European weakness that advocated a bigger jump in yields than we ultimately saw. Better still, the 10yr seemed highly determined to hold a ceiling of 1.50%. The …

Mortgage rates are on a tear . In the bigger picture, 2019 has been the best year in more than a decade. Only 2002 was arguably on the same level in terms of the move from peak to trough. If we include late 2018’s higher rates the overall move is now bigger than the one seen in 2008/2009. While someone …

Increasing home prices are at the heart of a decision by the major federal regulatory agencies to raise the threshold for requiring a residential real estate appraisal for mortgages originated by their regulated institutions. When the rule become effective, mortgages on 1 to 4 family homes sold for $400,000 or less may be exempt from an appraisal; the current level …

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said sales of newly constructed homes fell 12.8 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000 units. Forecasts pinned that number at 645k. While missing the mark by 10,000 units and a 12.8 percent drop sound fairly significant, context is hugely important in this case. …