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Polly Enters Hedging, Digital Lending, LO Exploration, Servicing, Correspondent Products; Penny and VantageScore
10/6/2026 10:24 AM
I like to say that I am one good Lottery Scratcher away from ditching this daily Commentary gig and starting something new. All kidding aside, where should we start today? With the rumored FICO layoffs yesterday afternoon? Iowa, Michigan, and the Carolinas all having conferences now? Pennymac is now live with VantageScore 4.0 across all three produ...Read More
 
Overnight Adaptive Cruise, Following Oil
10/6/2026 9:00 AM
If rate movement were a car, it"s been driving pretty recklessly recently, and definitely not keeping good pace with other motorists. But every now and then, we see a break in the craziness. The overnight trading session provided an example. The bond car set its adaptive cruise control to follow the car in front of it (oil prices, in today"s case)....Read More
 
What Will it Take For Bonds to Recover?
10/5/2026 3:41 PM
What Will it Take For Bonds to Recover? Another day, another sell-off without any satisfying explanations. To be fair, you could say bonds just traded the curve today with anything 3yrs or shorter rallying at the expense of the longer end of the curve. But for the mortgage market, <3yrs is too short-term...Read More
 
Mortgage Rates Inch Up to Another Recent High
10/5/2026 3:18 PM
The good news is that today"s average top-tier 30yr fixed rate ended only 0.01% higher than last week"s high (7.61 vs 7.60). If you are only interested in good news, have a great rest of your Monday and you"re free to go. The rest of the news isn"t terrible, but we we can"t classify it as "good." Bonds lost ground today and, as has been the case o...Read More
 
AI, Title Waiver, Real Estate Auction, QC, eNote Tools; Financial Literacy Study; MBS Issuance
10/5/2026 10:25 AM
Today brings us the MBA of the Carolinas conference, where demographics, technology, and “building a team” are on the agenda. Here at the Michigan Mortgage Lender’s Association conference in Ypsilanti, tech is certainly “on the serving platter” in the sessions, but so is how originators should best use what they have to their advantage, which inclu...Read More
 
Weaker Start. No New Reasons
10/5/2026 9:46 AM
Another week begins with the frustrating reality of the bond market selling just because there"s no reason to buy. To be fair, 2yr yields are unchanged, but longer-dated yields are several bps higher than Friday afternoon. All this despite oil prices being lower and econ data being in line with expectations. At this point, anyone offering rationale...Read More
 
Why Bonds Sold Off Despite Weaker Jobs Report
10/2/2026 3:42 PM
Why Bonds Sold Off Despite Weaker Jobs Report First off, read the AM commentary if you haven"t already. This recap doesn"t add much to that (but the video adds a lot). Bottom line, NFP was weaker, but that was the worst of the news. The unrounded unemployment rate barely budged and it would have moved LOWER...Read More
 
Higher Rates Sapped Mortgage Demand, Surprising No One
10/2/2026 3:09 PM
Mortgage demand shocked no one by declining last week as mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in nearly three years. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 6% drop in total mortgage application volume for the week ending September 25. Both sides of the market moved lower, with the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index falling 4...Read More
 
Home Prices Keep Climbing, Just Not Everywhere
10/2/2026 2:44 PM
Home prices picked up a little more speed in July, as both FHFA and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed stronger annual appreciation than in their previous readings. The gains remain relatively modest by historical standards, and while nominal prices are still moving higher nationally, the picture looks considerably less...Read More
 
Mortgage Rates End Higher Despite Promising Start
10/2/2026 2:03 PM
Mortgage rates rose 0.04% today to an index value of 7.57% for a top-tier 30yr fixed scenario for the average lender today. That uptick in and of itself isn"t especially large, but it"s a bit counterintuitive on a day where the hotly anticipated jobs report came in much weaker than expected.  The jobs report has 2 key components: Nonfarm Payr...Read More




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High mortgage rates are trapping homeowners in place, and making renovations harder to afford
10/3/2026 12:57 PM
Homeowners are stuck in houses they might have left by now due to the low mortgage rates of the past, and can"t even remodel with HELOCs too expensive to tap...Read More
 
Cramer says 'frozen' conditions are holding many stocks back. Here's what could change that
9/30/2026 6:00 PM
CNBC"s Jim Cramer said Wednesday that several key parts of the U.S. economy have effectively frozen...Read More
 
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reports more than $250 million in income last year
10/1/2026 7:45 AM
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick unwound his ties to Cantor Fitzgerald as the billionaire financier joined the Trump administration...Read More
 
Mortgage rates jump for the sixth straight week, hitting both refinance and homebuyer demand hard
9/30/2026 6:39 AM
Mortgage demand dropped for the 7th straight week, as rates surged well over 7% on the 30-year fixed...Read More
 
Homeowners are sitting on record equity – and not using it
9/29/2026 2:23 PM
U.S. homeowners have more housing wealth than ever before, thanks to fast-rising home prices over the last several years. But they aren"t spending much of it. ...Read More
 
Many homeowners have a big insurance coverage gap — and don't even know it
9/26/2026 8:30 AM
Many consumers have a gap in their homeowners insurance coverage. This puts them at financial risk, and they are likely unaware, experts said...Read More
 
30-year fixed mortgage rate jumps sharply Thursday to 7.45%
9/24/2026 6:08 PM
The 30-year fixed rate surged to 7.45%, the highest level since April 2024 as bonds sold off and yields rose...Read More
 
Miami's ultra-luxury housing market booms as cash transactions dominate, high-end brands like Bugatti and Porsche jump in
9/24/2026 1:19 AM
Miami’s ultra-luxury housing segment is booming even as the broader market cools. UBS sees a declining risk of a bubble...Read More
 
Nearly 10% of borrowers opted for riskier mortgages last week, as rates soared over 7%
9/23/2026 6:44 AM
As mortgage rates rise, borrowers are seeking savings in riskier, adjustable-rate mortgages that offer lower rates...Read More
 
Cramer’s week ahead: What to watch as Wall Street navigates a tough September
9/18/2026 5:17 PM
CNBC’s Jim Cramer said investors could be in for a relatively quiet week as Wall Street works its way through a historically difficult September...Read More




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