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| Global Bond Market in Reprice Mode | ||
| 3/20/2026 4:21 PM | ||
| Global Bond Market in Reprice Mode Around here, "reprice" typically refers to mid-day rate changes from mortgage lenders, but infrequently, a big picture repricing occurs in the bond market. That"s what"s going on in March and especially over the last 2.5 days. Wednesday"s Fed comments and Thursday"s ECB/BO...Read More | ||
| Mortgage Rates Move Back Above 6.5% | ||
| 3/20/2026 1:53 PM | ||
| After hitting 5.99% as recently as February 27th, top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rates are back over 6.5% for the average lender today--the highest they"ve been since September 3rd, 2025. The entire month of March has been painful for many corners of the financial market and mortgage rates are not immune. The Iran war is the underlying catalys...Read More | ||
| New Home Sales Plunge to 3-Year Lows | ||
| 3/20/2026 1:15 PM | ||
| New home sales took a notable step back in January, reversing much of the prior month’s strength and highlighting the volatility that often defines this data series. The Census Bureau reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 587,000 , down sharply from December’s 712,000 and 11.3% lower than January 2025. For-sale inventory moved slightl...Read More | ||
| Reality Check For Refi Demand | ||
| 3/20/2026 1:08 PM | ||
| NOTE: the rates discussed in this article are from MBA"s weekly survey and pertain to last week. This week"s rates have already moved significantly higher according to our daily data. Mortgage application activity fell sharply last week as rising rates weighed on demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a decrease of 10.9% o...Read More | ||
| Builder Confidence Inches Higher Amid Affordability Concerns | ||
| 3/20/2026 1:05 PM | ||
| Builder confidence ticked slightly higher in March according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), though sentiment remains subdued as affordability concerns continue to weigh on the single-family market. The headline index rose one point to 38 , following a small upward revision to February’s...Read More | ||
| Central Banks Cite Oil to Steal Spotlight From Oil | ||
| 3/20/2026 8:46 AM | ||
| In the space of 2 days, central banks have completely stolen the spotlight from energy prices, but they have relied on energy prices to do so. More simply put, markets had been following oil prices until this week"s central bank announcements. At that point, central banks cited energy prices as a reason for bigger upside inflation risk, vanishing r...Read More | ||
| Volatile Day Thanks to Central Banks And, Eventually Oil | ||
| 3/19/2026 2:48 PM | ||
| Volatile Day Thanks to Central Banks And, Eventually Oil Bonds took a break from their lock-step tango with oil prices for most of today"s session instead focusing on European Central Bank (ECB) policy news. Key considerations included a sharply higher inflation forecast, warnings of additional upside risks...Read More | ||
| Mortgage Rates Jump Back Up to 7-Month Highs | ||
| 3/19/2026 1:44 PM | ||
| Mortgage rates hit 7-month highs last Friday, but recovered fairly nicely on the first two days of the present week. The past 2 days have been a bit rough, unfortunately. Over that time, the average top-tier 30yr fixed rate rose 0.14% to 6.43%--just a bit higher than last Friday"s 6.41%. Whereas mortgage rate volatility on many recent days have be...Read More | ||
| Broker, Correspondent, Subservicer Oversight Tools; IMB Cost $11k Per Loan; STRATMOR Survey | ||
| 3/19/2026 10:24 AM | ||
| The FHFA announced that Fannie and Freddie will remove ‘certain’ homeowners insurance requirements which may reduce costs. But what are people saying about where their industry-facing priorities are? Both are focused on leveraging technology and reminding lenders of their existing products. For example, Fannie offers a construction to perm program,...Read More | ||
| Bonds Ignore Oil in Favor of Repricing The Rate Outlook | ||
| 3/19/2026 7:55 AM | ||
| At almost any moment in March 2026, a glance at the "10yr vs oil price" chart has revealed sufficient correlation to blame the bond rout on the energy price spiral. But the correlation is spotty at times and today is one of the starkest examples. Oil is essentially flat while bonds surged to higher yields overnight. We don"t normally focus much on ...Read More | ||