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| Bonds Punt. Focus Turns to Friday"s Econ Data | ||
| 2/19/2026 3:36 PM | ||
| Bonds Punt. Focus Turns to Friday"s Econ Data Bonds spent the past 2 days pushing back toward slightly higher yields after the 10yr nearly hit 4.0% in Tuesday"s overnight session. While there was probably some technical resistance at work, Thursday suggests it wasn"t a lasting, thematic shift. In other...Read More | ||
| Mortgage Rates Hold Flat on Thursday Despite Lower Weekly Average | ||
| 2/19/2026 2:33 PM | ||
| For the average lender, top-tier 30yr fixed mortgage rates were perfectly unchanged compared to yesterday. This keeps them right in line with the lowest levels in more than 3 years. That said, if we"re splitting hairs, better rates were available 4 days in the past month and a half (Jan 9, Jan 12, Feb 13, Feb 17). So why is it that there are news ...Read More | ||
| Prudent AI"s Income, Correspondent, LOS Tools; The Fed"s Bank Mortgage Proposal; STRATMOR on LOs; Elliot Eisenberg Interview | ||
| 2/19/2026 10:45 AM | ||
| It’s hard to believe that the COVID pandemic was six years ago with its increase in deaths. For our biz, we switched to “work from home,” among other changes. Along those lines, I received this note: “Rob, are you hearing about a concern among lenders about the liquidity of the non-QM sector? As in a repeat of March 2020 when many non-QM lenders su...Read More | ||
| Accidental Clairvoyance (Not Really...) | ||
| 2/19/2026 7:53 AM | ||
| Yesterday"s end-of-day recap bore the title "Half-Hearted Correction Continues." It turns out that should have been the title for this morning"s commentary as it"s a better description of this morning"s trading (yesterday, we actually had a few fundamentals to justify the weakness). In today"s case, bonds are weaker "just because." Jobless Claims d...Read More | ||
| Half-Hearted Correction Continues | ||
| 2/18/2026 3:22 PM | ||
| Half-Hearted Correction Continues Don"t call it a correction. Yields may have rallied 30bps in just over a week and apparently bounced almost perfectly at 4% (10yr), but they haven"t exactly done much over the past 2 days. It"s just as fair to say things are "sideways and waiting for guidance," but th...Read More | ||
| Residential Construction Finds Footing in December | ||
| 2/18/2026 3:13 PM | ||
| What goes down must come up? Definitely not always the case, but true this time for residential construction numbers. The Census Bureau’s latest report showed a rebound in December, with both housing starts and building permits moving higher after softer readings in prior months. Privately owned housing starts rose 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted ...Read More | ||
| Higher Refi Demand Buoys Mortgage Apps as Rates Hit Lows | ||
| 2/18/2026 3:00 PM | ||
| Mortgage application activity picked up last week with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reporting an increase of 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending February 13. Refi applications were in the driver"s seat, and although it was hardly a "jump", the Refinance Index did increase 7% from the previous week and was 132% h...Read More | ||
| Builder Confidence Remains Subdued | ||
| 2/18/2026 2:47 PM | ||
| Builder confidence fell for the second straight month in February according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Affordability pressures and elevated construction costs continued to hamper already gloomy sentiment. While the move was modest in outright terms (just one point lower than before),...Read More | ||
| Mortgage Rates Tick Microscopically Higher | ||
| 2/18/2026 2:11 PM | ||
| Mortgage rates at the average lender moved up by 0.01% today--the smallest increment measured by the MND daily rate index. This means that most borrowers won"t see a meaningful different in today"s rates vs yesterday"s. That"s welcome news considering yesterday"s rates were tied for the second best day in more than 3 years. In the bigger picture, ...Read More | ||
| LO Centered Marketing, Credit Score Products; Company-Sponsored Events; Faith Schwartz Interview | ||
| 2/18/2026 10:44 AM | ||
| On today’s Mortgage Matters live interview (at 1PM ET; feel free to ask questions) Faith Schwartz, who has an incredible pedigree, draws upon her decades of housing finance and policy experience to discuss crisis leadership lessons, regulatory evolution, and what today’s lenders should be watching as the market recalibrates. One topic could very we...Read More | ||