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MBS RECAP: Bonds Build Case for Support After Yellen
"Support" and "resistance" are two terms often thrown around in market analysis. They loosely refer to ceilings and floors respectively (as far as rates are concerned), but it's slightly more complicated than that (as covered in our primer on MBS Live). The gist is that ceilings and floors can st
Job Growth Soars in June
"Let's work, be proud. Stand tall, touch the clouds." Mick Jagger. More Americans were headed to work, but take-home pay stayed about the same. Employers added 222,000 new jobs in June, well above expectations, the Labor Department reported. April was revised up from 174,000 to 207,000, and May was revised u
Retail Sales Weak. Inflation Tame.
Last Week in Review: "Just shopping. Not buying anything." The Dramatics. Consumers are spending more than last year, but sales from month to month don't register consistently. June Retail Sales fell 0.2 percent from May, the second monthly decrease in a row, though they were 2.8 percent above June 2016 per
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Housing Highs, Spending Lows May Existing Home Sales rose from April to an annual rate of 5.62 million units, above the 5.52 million expected, and up 2.7 percent from May 2016. While New Homes Sales fared even better (see What to Watch below), the National Association of REALTORS® chief economist, Lawrence Yu
Loan Limits for Conventional Mortgages
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes annual conforming loan limits that apply to all conventional mortgages delivered to Fannie Mae, including general loan limits and the high-cost area loan limits. High-cost area loan limits vary by geographic location. General Loan Limits for 2017 The general loa
For Bonds, Worst Day Since Late June ECB Scare
Bonds sold off aggressively today, for a combination of reasons that are tremendously unsatisfying in a traditional market-watching sense. For example, it would be nice if we could point to something tidy and logical like all-time high stock prices, or the stronger Consumer Confidence data, but at
Refi Applications Strengthened on Last Week’s Lower Rates
A decline in purchase mortgage applications cancelled out most of a moderate increase in refinancing during the week ended July 21. Nonetheless, the Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index eked out a slight gain. The Index was up 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 1.0 pe
Bonds Battle Back After Fed Foregoes Surprises
Today's focus was understandably on the Fed Announcement, and indeed, most of the movement followed it. But interestingly enough, the biggest volume spikes occurred at other times, and that helps explain the day's paradoxical movement. So what's the paradox? Quite simply, it made very little sense to see as
2017 FHFA House Price Index: Historical Snapshot
Historical report — August 22, 2017. This page summarizes the Federal Housing Finance Agency's second-quarter 2017 House Price Index release. It describes that period only; it is not a current home-price forecast or an estimate of any individual property's value. What FHFA reported for the second quarter of 20
Archived Tax-Time Resource Links
Historical tax-resource notice. This page previously linked to tax-season material distributed for an earlier filing period. Those tracked links are no longer presented as current guidance. For your filing year, start with the IRS individual tax-filing resources and ask a qualified tax professional about your ci
Fannie Mae DTI Guidelines: What a 45% Ratio Means
Under Fannie Mae DTI guidelines, a 45% debt-to-income ratio does not automatically establish approval or denial. Manual underwriting and Desktop Underwriter (DU) have different limits, and the lender must assess the complete loan file. What are the current Fannie Mae DTI limits? Fannie Mae’s Debt-to-Income Ra
Archived Tax-Season Resource Notice
Historical tax-resource notice. This page previously pointed to tax-season tips attributed to Vision Financial Group. That older material and its tracked links are no longer presented as current NorthStar Funding or third-party advice. The attribution identifies the former resource only; it does not imply a curre