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AI, Construction, Servicing, QC Products; NY Conference Chatter; AI Governance; LO Comp

5/19/2026 10:55 AM

One of the discussion topics here in New York at the MBA conference is, just like every other conference, artificial intelligence, and one of the questions is, “Who’s accountable if something goes wrong?” Any one of us in capital markets will tell you that, in the case of Freddie, Fannie, investors, and so on, lenders are held ultimately accountabl...Read More

Increasing Signs of Bond-Specific Panic

5/19/2026 8:40 AM

Ever since the initial 2 week ceasefire was announced in the Iran war, the bond market has adhered to trend channels that align with either de-escalation or re-escalation sentiment. Nothing too complicated here: if sentiment is trending in favor of peace, bonds have rallied. If sentiment is deteriorating, bonds have sold off. There was a temporary ...Read More

Bombarded by Headlines, But Little-Changed

5/18/2026 3:18 PM

Bombarded by Headlines, But Little-Changed Monday"s trading session ended up being an exercise in headline-watching, as has been the case on so many days since the start of the Iran war. Today was more active than normal in that regard. The earliest headlines (as covered in the AM commentary) were helpful u...Read More

Mortgage Rates Start Week at New 9 Month High, But Just Barely

5/18/2026 2:34 PM

Mortgage rates hit their highest levels in more than 9 months at the end of last week. Now today, they"ve edged slightly higher yet again with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate at 6.68% versus 6.65% on Friday. This wasn"t necessarily destined to be the case today. In fact the day began with the average lender unchanged. But the underlying marke...Read More

Equity Tapping, Non-QM Hedging, AI Processing, Subservicing Tools; MBA Hallway Talk

5/18/2026 10:43 AM

For those of you who like maps, here’s one of the states’ closing costs. And here’s something for companies who have training programs: New hires should check out the Business Glossary from MISMO. It covers business processes, events, calculations, documents, forms, regulations, AI terminology, and more. LOs of various ages tell me that people in t...Read More

Early Gains And Losses on Conflicting War Headlines

5/18/2026 9:36 AM

Bonds began the overnight session by drifting somewhat higher in yield. The 10yr hit 4.63 before recovering modestly just before domestic trading began. Yields were still slightly higher at 7:30am but moved lower after headlines cited rumors that the U.S. agreed to lift Iran"s oil sanctions. Subsequent headlines cited a revised counter-proposal fro...Read More

Bonds Continued Drifting Weaker Throughout The Day (10yr Hit 4.6%)

5/15/2026 4:12 PM

Bonds Continued Drifting Weaker Throughout The Day Nothing new or interesting happened during the course of the trading day. The key market movers were in place at the start of domestic trading. From an analytical standpoint, the morning commentary adequately recaps the day"s bond market motivations. Yields...Read More

April Housing Inflation Data Fills in The Dots That Went Missing During The Government Shutdown

5/15/2026 1:12 PM

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a highly technical research paper this week examining how the agency handled missing shelter inflation data during the October 2025 government funding lapse. The issue stemmed from the CPI’s housing survey, which was unable to collect rent data during the shutdown period. With no fresh survey results availab...Read More

Servicer Retention Fell in Q1, But Remains at Multi-Year Highs

5/15/2026 1:04 PM

Refinance activity continued to recover in the first quarter of 2026, but mortgage servicers retained a smaller share of borrowers despite the stronger lending environment, according to the latest ICE Mortgage Monitor. ICE estimated that roughly 585,000 first-lien refinances totaling $242 billion closed during the quarter, up from a revised 5...Read More

Existing-Home Sales Flat Year Over Year Despite Inventory Gains

5/15/2026 12:58 PM

Existing-home sales edged slightly higher in April, stabilizing after March’s decline as improving affordability and increased inventory provided modest support for buyers. Sales increased 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million , matching the pace seen one year ago. “Despite mixed macroeconomic signals—including a record-hi...Read More

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