By Matthew Graham Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch Whereas mortgage rates were almost undetectably higher yesterday, they were lower by roughly the same insignificant amount today. In either case, and unless they make a much bigger move, they’re generally hanging out near the lowest levels in more than a year. For the sake of context, if we’re talking about the …

By Jann Swanson Posted To: MND NewsWire Both the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller housing indices acknowledged further slowing in home price appreciation in December. The Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 4.7% annual gain in December, down from 5.1 percent the previous month. Before seasonal adjustment, …

By Jann Swanson Posted To: MND NewsWire Sometime things are just not worth the wait. The long-delayed December report on residential construction from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development was finally released today, about five weeks later than scheduled, because of the partial government shutdown. Only one of the three indicators moved higher, and only …

By Matthew Graham Posted To: MBS Commentary The Fed is undoubtedly a major factor in market movement–especially when it comes to rates. At first glance, the key consideration is their collective stance on future rate hikes. But given the recent comments from multiple Fed speakers, we’re increasingly going to need to scrutinize comments about the Fed’s balance sheet. The balance …

By Rob Chrisman Posted To: Pipeline Press We all learn something every day. For example, did you know that the grocery chain Trader Joe’s is owned by a huge German supermarket chain? Yup. How about loud noise impacts your perception of taste and, in an airplane, you may crave something rich and savory like tomato juice which you haven’t purchased …

By Jann Swanson Posted To: MND NewsWire Freddie Mac reported this week that its total mortgage portfolio increased at an annualized rate of 1.2 percent in January, down from 6.6 percent the previous month. The portfolio balance at the end of the period was $2.184 trillion compared to $2.182 trillion at the end of December and $2.095 trillion a year …

By Matthew Graham Posted To: MBS Commentary If bonds happened to move higher in yield by more than they did today, we’d be talking about how the announcement of a US/China tariff extension put upward pressure on rates. As it stands, we can still witness just a bit of that upward pressure, but not enough to consider this anything other …

By Matthew Graham Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch Mortgage rates were very nearly unchanged today, although the average lender was just slightly higher. Investors reacted to news over the weekend that the US/China tariff deadline would be extended. While that doesn’t have anything to do with mortgage rates, it set market forces in motion that created the modest, indirect effect. …