The Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Treasury issued the administration's January Housing Scorecard on Monday. The report is essentially a summary of data on housing and housing finance released by public and private sources over the previous month and/or quarter. Most of the data such as new and existing home sales, permits and starts, mortgage originations, and various house price evaluations have been previously covered by MND. The scorecard incorporates by reference the monthly report of the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) through the end of December. This includes information on the universe of MHA programs including the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HOPE Now, and Second Lien Modifications and other initiatives. Since the HAMP program began in...(read more)
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that commercial and multifamily loan originations were down 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter but were 13 percent higher than originations in the fourth quarter a year earlier. The year-over year change was driven by originations for both industrial and multifamily properties which increased 43 percent and 31 percent respectively from Q4 2010. On the negative side, retail loans were down 8 percent, loans for healthcare properties fell 24 percent, office properties were down 29 percent and hotel originations decreased 44 percent. Quarter over quarter results were mixed. There was a 153 percent jump in originations for health care properties; industrial loans were up 51 percent and multifamily properties increased...(read more)
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MBS Live : MBS RECAP Open MBS Live Dashboard FNMA 3.5 103-28 : +0-05 FNMA 4.0 105-23 : +0-07 FNMA 4.5 106-27 : +0-02 FNMA 5.0 108-02 : +0-04 GNMA 3.5 105-08 : +0-05 GNMA 4.0 107-29 : +0-05 GNMA 4.5 109-07 : +0-03 GNMA 5.0 110-30 : +0-02 FHLMC 3.5 103-19 : +0-04 FHLMC 4.0 105-11 : +0-06 FHLMC 4.5 106-09 : +0-01 FHLMC 5.0 107-20 : +0-03 Pricing as of 4:03 PM EST Afternoon Market Updates A recap of MBS Market Updates provided by MND Analysts and streamed live to the MBS Live Dashboard . 2:36PM : ALERT: MBS Gains Hold. Additional Positive Reprices Reported About 2 hours ago, we started to entertain the possibility of positive reprices despite the lack of outright gains, and suggested that additional lenders would either need more time or further improvement in prices. They ended up getting both...(read more)
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Following Friday's employment data, Mortgages Rates moved quickly higher. In most cases, the changes were seen not in the quoted interest rates themselves, but rather in the closing costs required to obtain those rates. A small number of lenders' Best-Execution rates rose to 4.0%, but a majority stayed at 3.875%. (learn more about how we calculate Best-Execution in THIS POST ). For a given interest rate, there are a range of costs at which it could still be a best-execution candidate. Whereas Friday basically took these costs from the low side (about as low as they'd even been) to the high side, today's improvements serve to moderate that movement back toward somewhat of a middle ground. In another way of looking at things, you could think of the past three days as 3.875% best-ex rates being...(read more)
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The list of Improving Housing Markets (IHM) maintained by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) took another big jump in February, rising from 76 in January and more than doubling the 41 reported in December. There are now 98 metropolitan areas representing 36 states included on the list. The IHM identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs on each of three metrics - employment, housing permits, and home prices - for at least six consecutive months. NAHB uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Freddie Mac to measure improved performance. The additions to the February Index include some metropolitan areas that had been particularly weak including Miami, Detroit, Memphis, Kansas City, Missouri; Portland,...(read more)
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( MBS Live ) - Against today's data-free backdrop, the only real market mover has been the earlier scheduled Fed buying (30yr sector of Treasuries) that left the long end of the yield curve in slightly better shape. 2s v 10s moved down to 167 from 170.8 just before the Fed buying. In the process, 10yr yields have held support nicely under 1.95, and it seems that MBS appreciate the stable environment. Fannie 3.5's have marched calmly to better and better prices all morning, now up 4 ticks at 103-27. Volume has been quite light and volatility quite low for MBS. The swings in Treasuries have been a bit choppier by comparison, but this is the expectation surrounding these Fed market ops, and as long as the next pivot point on either side of the prevailing range remains unbroken, the volatility...(read more)
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MBS Live : MBS MID-DAY Open MBS Live Dashboard FNMA 3.5 103-24 : +0-01 FNMA 4.0 105-19 : +0-03 FNMA 4.5 106-25 : +0-00 FNMA 5.0 108-01 : +0-03 GNMA 3.5 105-04 : +0-01 GNMA 4.0 107-25 : +0-01 GNMA 4.5 109-04 : +0-00 GNMA 5.0 110-29 : +0-01 FHLMC 3.5 103-15 : +0-00 FHLMC 4.0 105-08 : +0-03 FHLMC 4.5 106-08 : +0-00 FHLMC 5.0 107-20 : +0-03 Pricing as of 11:03 AM EST Morning Market Updates A recap of MBS Market Updates provided by MND Analysts and streamed live to the MBS Live Dashboard . 10:18AM : NAHB: List of Improving Housing Markets Expands to Nearly 100 The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros in February to include a total of 98 entries on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released today. Thirty...(read more)
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Some will call this a useful tool and a time saver - others will say it is another sign of our privacy going away and "Big Brother" seeing everything. Enter an address, and it displays a map of the area showing all residences/businesses, including their phone numbers : http://neighbors.whitepages.com . In Northern California, WBC Lending is looking for experienced wholesale AE's to call on brokers. WBC Lending has "an aggressive product offering, including a super jumbo portfolio product with start rate 1.625% and life cap of 6.25%, up to $2 million dollars with a 50% DTI, and a 40-year term." With over 65 years of combined wholesale mortgage banking experience, the executive management team at WBC Lending believes they have put together a wholesale platform that is second to none, and would...(read more)
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The Employment Situation Report is normally preceded by "sideways uncertainty" and followed by noticeable directionality. But this time around, the opposite is true. Although there were some fast and moderately large losses on Friday following the report, it could be argued that the "noticeable directionality" took place in the days leading up to the report, and the passing of the report--by the time this week's upcoming Treasury Auctions and European events are considered--will usher in the "sideways uncertainty." Case in point with respect to European events, Reuters reports that Greece basically cannot bring itself to accept the terms of their most recent bailout, thus effectively dooming themselves to default and/or EU exit. Well... They apparently do have until today: ( Reuters) - Greece...(read more)
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MBS Live : MBS RECAP Open MBS Live Dashboard FNMA 3.5 103-24 : -0-10 FNMA 4.0 105-17 : -0-09 FNMA 4.5 106-26 : -0-04 FNMA 5.0 108-01 : -0-02 GNMA 3.5 105-02 : -0-11 GNMA 4.0 107-24 : -0-07 GNMA 4.5 109-03 : -0-05 GNMA 5.0 110-27 : -0-03 FHLMC 3.5 103-16 : -0-09 FHLMC 4.0 105-06 : -0-08 FHLMC 4.5 106-09 : -0-04 FHLMC 5.0 107-20 : -0-01 Pricing as of 4:02 PM EST Afternoon Market Updates A recap of MBS Market Updates provided by MND Analysts and streamed live to the MBS Live Dashboard . 1:54PM : NY Files Lawsuit Against Big Banks for Deceptive and Fraudulent Use of MERS Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today filed a lawsuit against several of the nation’s largest banks charging that the creation and use of a private national mortgage electronic registry system known as MERS has resulted in...(read more)
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Three major banks and Virginia-based MERSCORP, Inc. and its subsidiary Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems ( MERS ) were sued Friday by the state of New York. The suit, filed by the state's Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman , charges that the creation and use of a privately national electronic registration system, MERS, "has resulted in a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings in New York state and federal courts, harming homeowners and undermining the integrity of the judicial foreclosure process." Further, the lawsuit charges that the employees and agents of the three banks, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo , acting as "MERS certifying officers," have repeatedly submitted court documents containing false and misleading information that made...(read more)
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The monthly Employment Situation Report was released at 8:30am this morning, with much better-than-expected results. Stocks rallied sharply and most every interest rate in fixed-income markets moved higher. The economic optimism created by this sort of data tends to increase demand for riskier investments like stocks and lower demand for things like fixed-income notes and bonds. MBS (the "mortgage backed securities" that most directly govern mortgage rates) fall into this fixed-income sector, and definitely weakened following the jobs data. As a result, Mortgages Rates moved higher at their fastest pace in some time, traversing most of this week's territory, but leaving Best-Execution rates mostly at 3.875%. (learn more about how we calculate Best-Execution in THIS POST ). We'd said yesterday...(read more)
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the Financial Stability Oversight Council that the financial system is getting stronger and safer and that much of the excess risk-taking and careless financial practices that caused so much damage has been forced out. However, he said, "These gains will erode over time if we are not able to put our full reforms into place." He outlined the basic framework has been laid, with new global agreements to limit leverage, rules for managing the failure of a large firm and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) up and running, and the majority of the new safeguards for derivatives markets proposed. Geithner ticked off the major accomplishments of reform. First, banks now face much tougher limits on risk which are critical to reducing the risk of...(read more)
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HOPE NOW, the voluntary private sector alliance of mortgage industry stakeholders, recently concluded a two day conference in Washington which focused on assistance to military homeowners and foreclosure mediation. One group of servicers, investors, and housing counselors met with regulators, investors, and members of the military to discuss ways of reaching military families facing foreclosure because of their unique situation which includes Permanent Change of Station and other issues. A second group of HOPE NOW stakeholders met with judges, attorneys, and several state housing agencies to discuss best standards related to foreclosure mediation. John Dalton, President of the Housing Policy Council, former Secretary of the Navy, and a panelist at the conference said "The current housing crisis...(read more)
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There is plenty of play-by-play on the post-NFP sell-off in the MBS Recap . If you haven't seen those updates already, that's a good place to start, and in terms of where MBS are and what they're doing, there's not much more to say. So we'll focus instead on the longer term implications, look at charts, and consider the week ahead. First off, here's some pictorial accompaniment for today's movement. MBS turn out to have been relatively drama-free since the initial sell-off, returning to bounce fairly convincingly for a second time at 103-18. Even if MBS were now to break below that pivot, volume has basically dried up for the week, leaving the big bounces seen in the earlier heavy volume as the more significant from a technical perspective. To quantify the relative change in volume on the day...(read more)
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