Winning Streak Ends For Rates: Spring House-Hunting Warning; More Price Peaks

Mortgage rates finally moved higher after three straight days of solid improvement. If it's any consolation, today's rise wasn't on par with even one of the past 3 days of gains, although that could change by tomorrow morning. Weakness in the bond market primarily affected US Treasuries today, as opposed to the mortgage-backed-securities that dictate mortgage rates. That allowed many lenders to make it through the day without recalling rate sheets and "repricing" for the worse. If trading levels in bond markets don't change between now and tomorrow, it's likely that several lenders will be offering slightly higher rates in the morning. 4.125% remains the most common conventional 30yr fixed quote for top tier scenarios. It would take a more substantial market movement to get the average lender

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/9/2635

Rates Much Lower This Week; Buyer Sentiment Brightens; Homeownership Goes Both Ways; Refi Slump

Mortgage rates fell for the third straight day today. Each day has seen moderate improvement. Taken together, they add up to a strong move lower from last week's levels (which were roughly in the lower-middle of the post-election range). The result is that some lenders are at or near their lowest rates in nearly 3 MONTHS (yesterday it was 3 WEEKS). The average lender has only had 3 days during that time where rates were any better. There are plenty of opinions about what's behind this week's falling rates ranging from politics to last week's jobs report causing a shift in Fed rate hike expectations. All that matters is that investors have shifted to a more risk-averse stance resulting in better demand for less risky assets like bonds. Higher demand for bonds means lower rates. 4.125% remains

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/8/2633

Rates in Line With 3-Week Lows; Home Prices Running Over 7% Annually; Flagstar Buying Some of Stearns

Mortgage rates moved lower again today as investors remained cautious amid political uncertainty at home and abroad. Stocks began the day higher but lost ground throughout the day--indirectly helping rates. That's not to suggest mortgage rates routinely take cues from stocks. Rather, slumping stocks and falling rates speak to the same underlying trends. Caution, fear, and the like, tend to increase demand for less risky assets like bonds. As demand for bonds increases (sometimes, at the expense of stocks--like today), rates fall. In and of itself, today's improvement was mild to moderate. But taken together with yesterday, the gains were more meaningful as they brought a majority of lenders back to quoting 30yr fixed rates of 4.125% on top tier scenarios. The transition from 4.25% is still

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/7/2631

Connection Between Tax Refunds and Mortgage Delinquencies; Rates Fall to 2-Week Lows

Apparently we aren't all procrastinators. Black Knight Financial Services looked at Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filing statistics and how they relate to loan level mortgage performance data for its current edition of Mortgage Monitor and found that 40 percent of tax filers are in and done by the first week in March. In fact, half of that number or one in five have finished and filed their returns within the first two weeks of tax season. The company says incentive plays a role in this diligence as Americans who file early are more likely to be expecting a refund. On average, they also receive a larger refund than those who file later. The average refund for those filing on or before February 5 th was $3,400, more than 35 percent higher than the refund for those filing in early April and

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/6/2629

Mixed Day Leaves Rates Slightly Higher; Thoughts on Fannie's Rental-to-MBS Pilot Program

Mortgage rates were noticeably lower this morning as bond markets responded favorably to the important jobs report. While the headline job growth was stronger than expected (typically bad for rates), wages came in much lower than expected and were revised lower for the previous report as well. That was enough for most lenders to offer lower rates with today's first set of rate sheets. Bond markets (which underlie rate movement) stayed strong throughout the morning. Things changed in the afternoon when a member of the Fed (Williams) said the Fed may hike in March. Perhaps even more damaging was Williams' mention of the Fed moving closer to ending its policy of reinvesting the interest it earns on its bond portfolio. Those reinvestments are worth a lot in terms of low rates. Bonds then lost everything

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/3/2625

Mortgage Rates Edge Lower Ahead of Jobs Report; Good News For Lenders in RFC Case

Mortgage rates fell modestly today, but not enough to make it back to the lows seen earlier this week. 4.25% is still the most prevalent 30yr fixed rate on top tier scenarios, meaning day-to-day movement has been limited to upfront costs (sometimes referred to as "points," depending on the source of information). Since last Friday, the range has been exceptionally narrow leading up to tomorrow's Employment Situation (the big "jobs report"). This is the most important scheduled economic report each month. While its impact can vary, it always has tremendous potential to move markets in either direction. Given that today's rates are slightly lower than the average over the past few weeks, and the trend has been toward slightly higher rates during that time, a more cautious strategy makes good

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/2/2623

CFPB Charges Prospect; Rates Higher Despite Help From Fed; Freddie Housing Outlook

Prospect Mortgage, a Sherman Oaks, California based lender has been cited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for paying illegal kickbacks for mortgage business referrals . Two real estate brokers and a mortgage servicer were accused of taking those kickbacks. CFPB said Prospect is one of the largest independent retail mortgage lenders in the country with nearly 100 branches nationwide, offering a range of mortgages to consumers, including conventional, FHA, and VA loans. Also named in the several actions taken were two real estate brokers, RGC Services, Inc., (doing business as ReMax Gold Coast), based in Ventura, California, and Willamette Legacy, LLC, (doing business as Keller Williams Mid-Willamette), based in Corvallis, Oregon, and Planet Home Lending, LLC, a mortgage servicer

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/1/2621