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Did Japan Sell Treasuries Today?

9/18/2026 4:37 PM

Did Japan Sell Treasuries Today? Bonds sold off medium big on Friday in a move that offered little by way of overt explanations. There were reports of "rate checks" in the USD/JPY market--something that CAN precede the selling of U.S. bonds in order to buy JPY. Notably, there were no reports of actual inter...Read More

Mortgage Rates Only Modestly Higher Despite Bond Market Losses

9/18/2026 3:26 PM

We"d be the first to remind you that mortgage rates are primarily determined by trading levels in the bond market--specifically those for mortgage-backed securities (MBS). That said, there are days where rates don"t do exactly what MBS suggest. Today was one of them. According to the bond market, mortgage rates should have been much higher than th...Read More

Pending Sales Rebound Slightly as Regional Results Diverge

9/18/2026 2:55 PM

Pending home sales edged higher in August as gains in the South and West offset declines in the Northeast and Midwest. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which tracks signed contracts on existing homes, increased 0.3% from July but was down 4.7% from a year earlier. The modest increase came despite a...Read More

More Mixed Results in Residential Construction Report

9/18/2026 2:47 PM

Residential construction was mixed in August as housing starts recovered in the single-family sector, while building permits declined from July levels and completions fell sharply. The latest Census Bureau data points to continued unevenness in residential construction, with builders pulling back somewhat on new authorizations even as single-family...Read More

Labor, Land, and Rising Costs Push Builder Confidence to 3 Year Lows

9/18/2026 2:20 PM

Builder sentiment took a meaningful step backward in September, with higher mortgage rates, rising construction costs and worsening labor shortages weighing on the market for newly built homes. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) fell three points to 32 , matching September 2025 as the lowest lev...Read More

Refi Demand Falls, But Still Higher Than Early 2025 Levels

9/18/2026 1:43 PM

Mortgage application activity weakened again last week, with higher mortgage rates weighing on both purchase and refinance demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 4.1% decrease in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 11. The results include an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday....Read More

Webcasts, HELOC, AI Products; Product and Conv. Conforming News; Shared Equity Report

9/18/2026 9:59 AM

A big thrust by many lenders and originators is helping homeowners use the equity in their home or offering a shared equity product. And why not: there’s $36 trillion in home equity out there. And in an industry where we’ll be lucky to hit $2 trillion this year, it’s a juicy target. Jim Riccitelli, CEO of Unlock Technologies, sent me a recent study...Read More

Why Are Bonds Selling Today?

9/18/2026 8:33 AM

After Thursday"s rather triumphant trading session in the bond market, today"s moderate losses may be unpleasant or surprising to some. But they should be neither. Thursday was a bit exuberant in a good way, and Fridays often see position squaring. A bit of a pull-back is not only survivable but arguably more logical this morning, especially w...Read More

Even More Confirmation Throughout The Day

9/17/2026 5:39 PM

Even More Confirmation Throughout The Day It was heartening to see bonds erase yesterday"s losses by the time domestic trading got underway today. Unmitigated victory would have required flat/higher oil prices. Instead, we were forced to wonder how much credit to give lower oil prices versus the expectation...Read More

Mortgage Rates Back Near Lows of The Week

9/17/2026 1:50 PM

We love it when a plan comes together. Heading into yesterday"s Fed announcement, the hope was that a rate hike would reassure investors in longer-term bonds (like those that underlie mortgage rates). We also didn"t expect that benefit to necessarily play out on the day of the hike itself (it didn"t).  In fact, Fed day threw rates a bit of a ...Read More

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