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Last Week in Review: The Fed, Inflation, and a Twist  Home loan rates improved modestly week-over-week as the U.S. bond market attempts to stabilize after a sharp increase in rates. Back on Thursday, February 25th, the 10-year yield hit 1.61% and has since declined back beneath 1.50%. This helped mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which drive home […]

Last Week In Review: Rates Go on Vacation Longer-term U.S. interest rates, including home loan rates, remain on the rise. The big story of the week is Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Capitol Hill to provide his real-time assessment of the economy and rates while attempting to “sell” the notion that higher inflation will not […]

Last Week in Review: Three Things to Know This Week Longer-term U.S. interest rates, including home loan rates, increased sharply this past week, touching pre-COVID levels. Let’s break down the cause and effect as well as some other stories affecting housing. January Retail Sales Highlight Pent up Consumer Demand Retail Sales is a monthly report […]

The Redesigned URLA is Here At the first of the year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rolled out the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA), along with new automated underwriting system (AUS) specifications for DU and LPA. Get the full rundown on the form updates, which aim to: Help lenders more easily capture relevant loan […]

Last Week in Review: Three Things the Fed Said This past week, the Federal Reserve held their first meeting of 2021 and shared its thoughts on the economy, inflation, and interest rates. Below are three important takeaways for the mortgage/housing world and overall economy: 1. “In terms of tapering, it’s just premature.” Fed Chair Jerome […]

Last Week in Review: Yellen for More Stimulus   This past week, we watched stocks soar to record highs as Treasury Secretary nominee, Janet Yellen’s Senate confirmation began. Ms. Yellen is being embraced by the stock markets because: She is well known, having been Fed Chair for several years. Having been Fed Chair, she knows […]

Last Week in Review: Rates and Inflation on the Rise The Federal Reserve has been very clear on their communications over the past 18 months. They want to see inflation run hotter before even thinking about raising interest rates. And when we say interest rates, the only interest rates the Fed can control are short-term […]

Last Week in Review: Inflation - The Problem and Opportunity This past week we watched stocks and rates move higher with the former hitting all-time highs and the 10-year yield crossing above 1.00% for the first time since March. At the same time, mortgage-backed securities (MBS) traded lower, causing home loan rates to tick up […]

Last Week in Review: The Fed and the Unsaid Last week stocks climbed to all-time highs, and rates were able to hold steady near all-time lows. The big news of the week was the Fed Meeting. It is important to follow Fed activities as they are the most powerful central bank on the planet, and […]