Mortgage News Daily
MBS RECAP: Light Volume Stability Falls Victim to Headlines
by Matthew Graham
17 Jun 2013 at 2:07pm
Posted To: MBS Commentary
MBS Live : MBS Afternoon Market Summary Most of this afternoon's drama is extensively relayed in the catalogue of alerts and updates below. To recap that recap, an article from the Financial Times came out at 2pm, and essentially served as a dueling banjo to Hilsenrath's article on Thursday. Whereas Thursday's piece generally suggested "don't freak out" about Fed tapering, today's piece was more in the vein of "no, you should actually freak out a little bit." In neither case was any new, significant suggestion made about what's likely to happen on Wednesday, and it's a testament to the level of anxiety and anticipation (as well as thinly traded markets being easier to push around) that we saw as much movement as we did given the relative lack of actionable data/news. All eyes continue to be...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher; Anticipation Building for Fed
by Matthew Graham
17 Jun 2013 at 1:14pm
Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch
Mortgage rates rose in the afternoon , after beginning the day unchanged to slightly higher compared to Friday afternoon. That means lenders recalled their initial rate sheets from this morning and put out new sheets with higher costs. This is typically a result of market volatility and today is no exception as market participants are anxious for Wenesday's FOMC Announcement and press conference. The revised rates in the afternoon are in line with Thursday's offerings, suggesting best-execution rates between 4.125% and 4.0% Considering that Friday's rates were the best of the month, today's deterioration still leaves us in slightly better-than-average shape with respect to the recent range. Even so, the range of rates in June has been rather narrow compared to May. There's a clear sense of...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
MBS MID-DAY: Eerily Calm Start to FOMC Week
by Matthew Graham
17 Jun 2013 at 8:20am
Posted To: MBS Commentary
MBS Live : MBS Morning Market Summary So far this week, we're being treated to the "all things being equal" approach to Wednesday's tremendously important FOMC Events. In the few days leading up to any major market mover, it's fair to expect lighter volume, narrower trading ranges, and reasonably sideways price movement, "all things being equal." The qualifying phrase is added because all things aren't necessarily always equal in these cases (as we've seen several times in the run up to NFP data where Wednesday and Thursday cause big lead-offs). It has been the case today though, and even in the overnight session, Treasuries were already showing a desire to remain flat despite sharper movement in equities. Empire State Manufacturing data was a relative non-event, but the NAHB Housing Market...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Builder Confidence Soars. Sharpest Rise Since 2002
by Jann Swanson
17 Jun 2013 at 8:03am
Posted To: MND NewsWire
Low inventories and increasing traffic have unleashed the confidence of new new home builders the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said today. Its Housing Market Index (HMI), issued in conjunction with Wells Fargo Bank, jumped eight points in June to a reading of 52. A score of 50 is significant to the Index as it indicates more builders view sales conditions as good than view it as poor. The eight-point jump in the index was the biggest one-month gain since August and September of 2002 , when the HMI recorded a similar increase of eight points. NAHB Chairman Rick Judson said "This is the first time the HMI has been above 50 since April 2006, and surpassing this important benchmark reflects the fact that builders are seeing better market conditions as demand for new homes increases...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Eminent Domain; More on Mini Correspondent; Deducting Mortgage Interest; The ...
by Rob Chrisman
17 Jun 2013 at 6:41am
Posted To: Pipeline Press
The United States does not have the only government that is knee-deep in controlling lending and real estate. Beijing, which already has China's strictest real estate curbs, is being forced to take additional steps to contain surging home prices as demands for record-high down payments fail to deter buyers . The city has enforced citywide price caps since March by withholding presale permits for any new project asking selling prices authorities deem too high. Local officials will need further tightening as they struggle to meet this year's target of keeping prices unchanged from last year. The failure of official curbs to stem price increases in the nation's capital highlights the government's struggle to keep housing affordable as urbanization sends waves of rural workers into China's largest...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
The Week Ahead: Setting the Tone for 2nd Half of 2013
by Matthew Graham
17 Jun 2013 at 4:19am
Posted To: MBS Commentary
The theme of " honing in " is everywhere in financial markets and in the universe beyond. It goes by many names and can be thought of in many ways: a plucked guitar string returning to stillness, a driver regaining control after swerving to avoid a road hazard, Goldilocks' acquisition of the "just right" porridge, or even planets in orbit around a center of gravity. In all of these examples, the progression of events isn't always as simple as narrowing down options by eliminating the extremes . The guitar string can break (or be plucked again!); the driver can over-correct and crash; Goldilocks could be eaten by a bear; and even orbits--given enough time--will eventually expand or contract, or will be affected by something else (like the sun swelling enough to engulf the earth in about 5 billion...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Friday Borrower Do's and Don'ts
by Ted Rood
14 Jun 2013 at 2:54pm
Posted To: Community Commentary
Here's another weekly installment of Do's and Don't's for prospective borrowers embarking on, or already engaged in the home mortgage process. In case it needs to be said, the "don't's" are strictly for comedy (though most are based on real world examples of things that will kill or greatly delay the mortgage process). The "do's," on the other hand, are potentially valuable nuggets of information that may greatly benefit your mortgage experience. In fact, most of them can end up making a difference in the success or failure of a loan, and at the very least, can help avoid costly delays . Above all else, remember that your loan originator wants to close your loan as quickly and as efficiently as you and the good ones fully appreciate that their borrowers' satisfaction plays a huge role in their...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
MBS End Week at Best Closing Levels; No Comfort Until We Hear from FOMC
by Matthew Graham
14 Jun 2013 at 2:35pm
Posted To: MBS Commentary
MBS Live : MBS Afternoon Market Summary The sense of anxiety and uncertainty is palpable. Almost in perfect unison, when the lunch bell rang, traders in equities and bond markets alike began taking chips off the table ahead of next week's seemingly epic FOMC events. Before that, MBS had reached its best levels of the week, and even after the slide in the PM hours, managed to close at the best end-of-day levels of the week. 10yr yields didn't make any tremendous heady in the intermediate range, but they did manage to confirm the break below the 2.18 level that had been providing a floor of resistance all week. It would be nice if this was a meaningful bullish change of pace, but with this being the first visit to 2.10 all week, this barely scratches the bullish surface of the 2.31-2.07 range...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Lowest Mortgage Rates of the Month Ahead of Fed Week
by Matthew Graham
14 Jun 2013 at 2:12pm
Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch
Mortgage rates were significantly lower to start the day, and despite rising slightly in the afternoon, managed to end the week at the lowest levels since late May. For borrowers hoping to exit the recent roller coaster of rate volatility it's a small victory in the sense that it should amount to an eight of a percent drop in interest rates for most scenarios. The recently prevailing best-execution rate of 4.125% is now being overtaken by 4.0% for Conventional 30yr Fixed Loans. Conclusions about today's improvements are the same as yesterday's: dips in rates present opportunities to lock rather than cues to float unless you're not planning on locking until after next Wednesday's extremely important FOMC Announcement. This dip happens to be the best we've seen in 2 weeks and thus, presents the...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Confidence in Banks Back to 2008 Levels, But Still Historically Low
by Jann Swanson
14 Jun 2013 at 12:29pm
Posted To: MND NewsWire
Americans' confidence in U.S. banks has rebounded a bit from the low it hit in 2012. Gallop reports that 26 percent of recent survey respondents said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in banks compared to 21 percent such responses last year. This is the highest level for these responses since June 2008 when confidence peaked at 41 percent before beginning to erode, ultimately by 20 percentage points. Gallup asks questions about banks and a variety of other institutions in regular surveys and has since 1993 and periodically before that. In the most recent survey, conducted from June 1 to 4, banks ranked 10 th among 16 Institutions but showed greater improvement than any of the others. The percentage of Americans saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Builders/Remodelers Busiest Since 2005; Homeowner Tastes Evolve
by Jann Swanson
14 Jun 2013 at 11:38am
Posted To: MND NewsWire
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is seeing an improving market reflected in the size and amenities Americans now expect in both new homes and when they remodel. The Institute also says that responses to its Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2013 indicate that member firms involved in residential work are seeing their strongest growth levels since the economic downturn began. AIA Home Design Survey Index for Q1 2013 said that respondents reported that business conditions are strengthening with scores of 67 for billings and 74 for new projects where any score above 50 is positive. AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said, "With business conditions at residential architecture firms at the strongest growth level since 2005 , this is a very encouraging sign for the housing...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
California Home Sales Highest Since 2006, Affordability Twice As High
by Jann Swanson
14 Jun 2013 at 11:02am
Posted To: MND NewsWire
The California housing market heated up a little more in May with resales of houses and condominiums rising by 8.3 percent from resales in April. A total of 42,293 units sold during the month compared to 39,051 in April and 41,790 in May 2012, a 1.2 percent increase. DataQuick said that the numbers were the strongest for any May since 2006 when 54,099 homes were sold. May sales have ranged from a high of 67,078 in 2005 to a low of 32,223 ten years earlier. Reaching back to 1988, sales for the month have averaged 46,471, 9.0 percent higher than the most recent figure. Home prices are also increasing rapidly . May was the 15 th consecutive month that the state had seen an increase in median prices on an annual basis and last month's prices were up 25.9 percent from one year earlier, rising from...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
MBS MID-DAY: Leveling Off After Hitting Resistance
by Matthew Graham
14 Jun 2013 at 9:44am
Posted To: MBS Commentary
MBS Live : MBS Morning Market Summary If we're not meant to see current prices in MBS and Treasuries as resistance, markets are doing and exceptional job of trying to convince us otherwise. The periodic jolts of price movement that would normally be detectable after data releases of any importance are nowhere to be found this morning as bond markets simply rallied calmly into 10am. From then on, those levels have held as the guardrail, 103-26 in Fannie 3.5s and 2.103 in 10yr yields. We did see a quick break lower in Treasury yields, but by far and away, 2.103 has seen the most frequent bouncing. The only question for the afternoon is whether or not we can coast peacefully into the close, or if we'll be treated to yet another battle with our May/June nemesis: a leaky Friday afternoon in bond...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
NAR Testifies on QM; Ocwen Servicing Deal; CFPB Videos; Mergers; Top Ten Fund...
by Rob Chrisman
14 Jun 2013 at 9:06am
Posted To: Pipeline Press
NAR has been invited to testify at an upcoming Congressional hearing about the Qualified Mortgage rule (QM) . The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit has scheduled the hearing for Tuesday 6/18 at 10am. You can learn more about the QM rule and NAR's position here . And in a letter to CFPB director Richard Cordray, NAFCU president and CEO Fred Becker asked the CFPB to re-evaluate the rule that exempts credit unions that have $2 billion or less in assets and that originated 500 or fewer mortgages per year. While the change would help many smaller credit unions, Becker's letter notes that there are a number of small lenders already approaching or surpassing the 500-loan threshold. To address that issue and allow small creditors to continue operating...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
The Day Ahead: Moderate Econ Data; Mostly Focused on Fed Next Week
by Matthew Graham
14 Jun 2013 at 3:53am
Posted To: MBS Commentary
Everything in bond markets since May 3rd has been a blur-- the bad kind- -and the leading candidate to provide clarity is next week's FOMC events (announcement, press conference and member forecasts). As next Wednesday approaches, it's a fair hope that bond markets have begun to enter some sort of final approach pattern. While this may indeed be happening, it's been a turbulent ride, and we can't be entirely sure we won't fall out of the sky between now and then. Given that today is the last of the week, that the auction cycle is over, and that the most significant economic data is behind us, the tentative, bullish hope is that we can at least continue to grind it out in this noisy sideways range without sustaining too much damage. The sad thing is that we could easily explain away a move down...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
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