Inventories Driving Prices; Fannie's Blackstone Blowback; Rates at 2-Week Lows; What Happened to Black Homeownership?

Home prices, as measured by the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) Housing Price Index (HPI), rose even faster on an annual basis in December than they had earlier in the fall. The year-over-year gain was 6.2 percent, up from 6.1 percent in the 12 months ended in November, and 6.0 percent in October. FHFA's HPI report, which this month also in included fourth quarter data, is based on purchase prices of homes with mortgages backed by or sold to one of the two GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. On a quarterly basis, the HPI was up 1.5 percent compared to the third quarter. The monthly change from November to December was 0.4 percent, down from a 0.5 percent gain from October to November. "Although interest rates rose sharply during the fourth quarter, our data show no signs of a home price

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/23/2657

Big Banks Could Get Back in Mortgage Market; Rates Inch Higher; Implications of Aging-in-Place for Housing

For the past six years, there has been a quiet revolution in the mortgage market: Big banks like JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) , Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citibank (NYSE: C) have moved out and nonbank lenders such as Quicken, loanDepot and Caliber Home Loans have moved in — in a big way. The revolution went largely unchallenged, but that may be about to change if the Trump administration removes regulations on the big banks and stops sending bad loans back to the banks for repayment. Deregulation would open the door for big banks to move back in. Paul Miller, a banking analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said he believes big banks will return to the market, "but they will need solid protections on reps and warrants" — the financial due diligence that's done on both sides of the transaction

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/21/2653

Rates Finally Bounce; Permits Reapproaching Highs; Got The Right Homeowners' Insurance?

After spending the past 5 business days moving higher, mortgage rates finally found their footing today. The improvement came in phases, with today's first round of rate sheets only marginally better than yesterday's. Bond markets (which underlie rate movement) surged into stronger territory around 11am as investors pared risk during Trump's press conference. This allowed most lenders to "reprice," meaning they send out revised rate sheets with better terms. From the highest levels in nearly 3 weeks yesterday, today's rates ultimately fell to the lowest levels of the week by the afternoon. 4.25% remains the most prevalent conventional 30yr fixed rate on top tier scenarios, although several lenders moved back down to 4.125%. That means most borrowers will see today's improvements in the form

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/16/2647

Rates Near 3-Week Highs; Builders Say Buyer Traffic Wanes; ARM Origination Picking Up

Mortgage rates rose for the 5th day in a row following a higher reading in this morning's inflation data and an upbeat Retail Sales report. In general, stronger economic data and higher inflation motivate investors to move money out of the bond market. As demand for bonds falls, bond prices move lower and rates move higher. Today's increase brings mortgage rates close to their highest level in 3 weeks . You'd have to go back to January 25th to see worse. That said, "worse" is a relative term. Both then and now, a top tier scenario would result in a conventional 30yr fixed rate of 4.25%. Today's upfront costs would be just slightly lower. Only a few lenders remain at 4.125% on comparable scenarios and several have moved up to 4.375%. Loan Originator Perspective Bond markets lost further ground

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/15/2645

Rates' Losing Streak Continues; Distress Measures Improve Rapidly; Realtors: It's a Dog's World

Mortgage rates moved higher for the 4th straight day today, following Fed Chair Janet Yellen's congressional testimony. It wasn't that Yellen's speech or Q&A contained any major surprises. Rather, bond markets (which dictate rates) were simply looking for some indication of "sooner vs later" with respect to the Fed's next rate hike. Her comments were generally more in line with "sooner." Bond markets responded by quickly trading rates to higher levels, resulting in multiple "negative reprices" for mortgage lenders this morning. Bonds calmed down in the afternoon, and ended up clawing back roughly half of the morning's losses by the end of the day. Many lenders were consequently able to offer "positive reprices"--bringing rate sheets part of the way back to yesterday's levels. Despite the

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/14/2643

Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher; Yellen Facing a Whole New World Tomorrow

Mortgage rates stood at their lowest levels in more than 2 months as of last Wednesday, but have since moved higher for 3 straight days . This leaves them roughly in the middle of their recent range--seemingly ready to move in either direction depending on this week's motivation. Investors will be looking for that motivation first and foremost from Fed Chair Yellen's congressional testimony , which begins tomorrow morning and continues on Wednesday morning. Although not an official Fed policy statement, these testimonies often serve as a venue for the Fed Chair to confirm, deny, or tweak prevailing policy expectations. In other words, congress will almost certainly press Yellen for clarity on the Fed's rate hike outlook and other potential policy changes. Even though she would technically be

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/13/2641

Appraisal Trends and Updates; Rates Remain Lower vs Last Week

Mortgage rates continued higher today, bringing them back in line with Monday's levels. Part of the rise was due to weaker trading levels in bond markets. Just as important is the fact that many lenders didn't raise rates yesterday afternoon as the bond weakness began (weaker bond markets imply higher rates). In other words, unless bond markets improved overnight, this morning's rates were already destined to be a bit higher than yesterday's. Even though today's increase was far more substantial than yesterday's, it leaves rates at levels that are still slightly better compared to last Friday. Many lenders continue to offer 4.125% on top tier conventional 30yr fixed scenarios, though several have moved back up to 4.25% with today's weakness. Loan Originator Perspective With no major data until

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/2/10/2637