Category: Blog

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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

More options. Better service. Fewer overlays.

NorthStar Funding, Inc. works with many national lenders and several production channels to meet your company’s business model. From Wholesale to fully-delegated Correspondent lending, NorthStar provides a wealth of options that enable you to improve your revenue and production.     No mini

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

Mortgage Rates Rise Gently From 7-Month Lows

Financial markets are still reeling from political headlines that first began circulating on Tuesday afternoon. While stock markets made a reasonable attempt to retrace yesterday's big move lower, bond markets weren't as interested. Fortunately, that means mortgage rates moved modestly higher, leaving t

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

RIP Forever Homes: Millennials More Inclined to Move

Say goodbye to the idea of a “forever home.” No, I’m not talking about taking home a rescue pup. Instead, I’m referring to the antiquated idea of buying that dream house and living there forever. A recent community survey from Taylor Morrison shows that over half (56 pe

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

MMG Weekly: Retail Sales and Housing Starts Disappoint

Last Week in Review: The cha-ching didn’t register at retailers in May. Housing Starts disappointed. Inflation remained tame. “Don’t bring me down.” Electric Light Orchestra. Despite gains in April, consumers slowed down their purchases in May. Remember: Weak economic news normally ca

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

Freddie Singing a Different Tune on Housing/Mortgage Outlook

On November 30, 2016 Freddie Mac's economists issued their monthly Outlook which, in light of the sudden surge in interest rates earlier that month, was decidedly gloomy.  MND's coverage of the forecast elicited a lot of concern from readers, especially when we quoted Freddie Mac that, un

Bonds Look to Data and Month-End For Breakout Potential

Whereas the previous week was generally devoid of significant economic data or market moving events, the current week is more of a contender.  On the data front, there are relatively important reports throughout the week including a key inflation report on Friday (PCE).  Given the extent to which Fed sp