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How Technical Do You Want to Be?
7/24/2026 2:38 PM
How Technical Do You Want to Be? There are always multiple technical lenses through which to view market movement, but the simplest involve trendlines and level lines. Yield movement has largely held inside the same high/low trendlines since October 2025, so that"s a useful trend to keep tabs on the big pic...Read More
 
Mortgage Rates Recover Modestly From Long-Term Highs
7/24/2026 2:06 PM
If you"re just tuning in, mortgage rates had a rough day yesterday on top of a rough week overall. The result was the highest 30yr fixed rate in over a year with our index moving up to 6.85%. As has been and continues to be the case, rate momentum has been strongly correlated with oil/gas price momentum. With that in mind, it"s no surprise to see ...Read More
 
New Home Sales Regain Some Lost Ground
7/24/2026 12:17 PM
New home sales rebounded modestly in June, recovering some of the previous month"s decline, though activity remained below year-ago levels as elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges continued to weigh on demand. According to the latest Census Bureau and HUD data, sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rat...Read More
 
Refis Take a Back Seat as Purchase Demand Rebounds
7/24/2026 12:04 PM
Mortgage application activity rebounded last week as stronger home purchase demand offset a modest decline in refinancing, even with borrowing costs climbing to their highest level since last August. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 1.9% increase in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July ...Read More
 
AI, Non-QM Products; Deep Dive on AI; Morgan Stanley Interview on Risk
7/24/2026 10:40 AM
Odds are, anything you buy was transported using diesel fuel, the price of which has shot up after Russia banned exports of it, impacting farmers, trains, trucks… kind of nearly everything. Today is “Pie and Beer” Day in Utah, aka Pioneer Day, and having parades is costly. It was also celebrated last year, and the year before, and the year before. ...Read More
 
Token Support in Bonds After Oil Drops Overnight
7/24/2026 8:56 AM
It"s a straightforward morning in the bond market. We"re not seeing any of the sorts of "unseen hand" trading that accounted for the timing of yesterday"s pre-market weakness. We simply have oil prices erasing about half of yesterday"s rise. Bond yields are trying their best to be able to say the same, but they"re not recovering quite as much ...Read More
 
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives
7/23/2026 3:55 PM
Bonds Not Keen To Catch Falling Knives Oil lurched higher again overnight which kept generalized pressure on the bond market and the Fed rate outlook. The nearness to long-term highs had traders feeling very reluctant to step in and "buy the dip" in bond prices. This is the kind of move you"d rather see pla...Read More
 
Highest Rates in Over a Year, But There"s a Silver Lining
7/23/2026 12:41 PM
Mortgage moved higher today, and while the jump was no larger than the one seen on Monday, both were "above average" and both took rates in the wrong direction. In addition, the steady weakness throughout the month of July finally resulted in yesterday"s rates match the highest level in nearly a year.  In other words, it wouldn"t have taken m...Read More
 
Hedging, VantageScore 4.0, AI Accounting, Non-QM, Reverse Products; Higher Oil, Higher Rates
7/23/2026 10:28 AM
There are only twelve (12) legislative days left until the November election, and today on The Big Picture attorney Mitch Kider and I will discuss what that means for lenders as well as other regulatory topics. Rates aren’t doing much. Deals continue to happen as the big get bigger (the latest example being Union Home buying AmeriTrust to shoot for...Read More
 
Bearish Breakout For All The Normal Reasons
7/23/2026 8:23 AM
Welcome to post-Iran-War 2026. The only real relief for bonds since then was seen in June when there was hope that the war was over or at least winding down. Gas prices are back to multi-year highs. Inflation fears are back at the forefront. Even the ECB is flagging rate hike risks that could play out by the end of the year. This morning is se...Read More




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Why bond investors are pushing up some of your interest rates
7/24/2026 4:09 PM
Many types of consumer loans such as mortgages peg their interest rate to the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which has been moving higher...Read More
 
South Korea's president invokes dramatic Japan realty crash to push domestic property agenda
7/24/2026 2:07 AM
Lee was highlighting the country"s excessive investment in real estate, and highlighted that Japan"s housing market "burst like a balloon....Read More
 
Mortgage rates are rising again, but homebuyers are seeing some advantages
7/22/2026 6:31 AM
Mortgage rates last week rose to the highest level since last August, but homebuyer demand climbed as well, as buyers see more supply...Read More
 
Property taxes are poised for major midterm elections ballot battles across many U.S. states
7/21/2026 9:15 AM
Americans will have a rare opportunity to use votes to directly shape tax policy with 26 ballot measures on taxation across 13 states set for midterm elections...Read More
 
Wall Street is selling more rental homes, as buying ban takes effect
7/22/2026 7:57 AM
The largest landlords are all net sellers year to date, with 3,180 more homes sold than bought since Jan. 1...Read More
 
Housing costs is the top political issue for young voters, CNBC survey finds
7/19/2026 7:00 AM
The cost of housing is the top priority for voters ages 18 to 34, besting food and healthcare cost concerns, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey found...Read More
 
Homebuyer affordability slipped for fifth straight month, real estate index shows
7/17/2026 7:08 AM
With both home prices and mortgage rates climbing since earlier this year, affording a home has become harder, according to a housing affordability index...Read More
 
Here's why the housing market is hurting so much this summer
7/16/2026 3:06 PM
Mortgage rates are high, home prices at record levels, and consumers stressed — all contributing to a drop in existing home sales and builder sentiment...Read More
 
Mortgage rates rise to highest level in nearly a year, causing homebuyers to pause
7/15/2026 7:13 AM
Mortgage rates moved higher last week, causing buyers to pull back, but refinancing did see small gains...Read More
 
New housing law targets affordability — what it means for homebuyers and sellers
7/11/2026 8:41 AM
While the legislation is aimed at least partly at addressing affordability, experts say the benefits of the measure will take time to show up in the market...Read More




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