There was a problem returning the RSS feed.
There was a problem returning the RSS feed.

:

HELOC, AI Processing Tools; STRATMOR on Subservicing; MISMO Role; RESPA Thoughts

8/11/2026 10:45 AM

What are folks talking about here at the Western Secondary? Small things and big things. There’s a brand-spankin’ new private MI company: Anza. (Contact Melissa Gemma with questions.) Lenders are doing interesting things to help communities: for example, here’s Fairway Independent not leaving a dry eye in the house. That UWM has filed a lawsuit in ...Read More

Stronger Start on Yet Another Peace Deal Teaser

8/11/2026 9:36 AM

Bonds are rallying, and we have no objection to that. Reasons are simple and familiar enough that there"s no sense in over-analyzing them. Newswires hit at 7am saying that Pakistan"s defense minister said "things are shaping up in favor of peace" and that Pakistan"s interior minister Khawaja Asif arrived in Tehran to discuss "matters of mutual inte...Read More

Issuance and Oil Strike Back

8/10/2026 3:00 PM

Issuance and Oil Strike Back Oil prices continue to ebb and flow in concert with the Iran war news cycle. There"s no set schedule for such things, but there have been several Mondays where that narrative shifts in the opposite direction from wherever we left off at the end of the previous week. Last We...Read More

Mortgage Rates Rise Modestly From 3 Week Lows

8/10/2026 2:32 PM

As of last Friday, average top-tier mortgage rates hit their lowest levels since July 20th. If they"d managed to drop even 0.01% today, it would have been a new 3-week low.  As it stands, rates moved modestly higher in response to higher oil prices. Throughout the Iran war, oil and rates have had a broadly strong correlation because oil infor...Read More

Land Loan, Agentic AI Tools; Deep Dive Into Earnings; Pennymac"s Spector on Servicing Value

8/10/2026 10:42 AM

Here in the hallways at the Western Secondary in L.A., there isn’t a lot of talk about GSE reform, although this short clip from Sam Valverde, ex-acting president of Ginnie Mae, revisits the subject: The GSE reform trigger nobody"s watching closely enough. More of the talk is about 2nd quarter earnings, and I received this note: “Rob, I am a broker...Read More

Another Week, Another Oil Price Pivot

8/10/2026 9:32 AM

Recent experience suggests the safest assumption about oil prices and bond yields is that they will pop and drop with reasonable regularity. In other words, lower prices/yields for a few days following friendly war-related headlines tend to give way to unfriendly headlines and a market reversal. Wash, rinse, repeat. The new week is starting off wit...Read More

Not Quite The Rally You"d Expect, But a Rally Nonetheless

8/7/2026 4:21 PM

Not Quite The Rally You"d Expect, But a Rally Nonetheless Today"s vitals might be a bit confusing at first glance. Payrolls came in at -23k versus forecasts of 80k. At most moments in history, that would be worth a substantial rally. Today it was only worth 3bps in the 10yr and a quarter point in MBS. To be...Read More

Mortgage Rates End Week at Lows

8/7/2026 3:58 PM

Mortgage rates dropped moderately today after the latest jobs report showed much lower jobs created than expected. The monthly jobs report is one of the most--if not THE most--important pieces of economic data to the rate market on any given month. If the numbers are close to forecasts, there isn"t always a big reaction. Today"s numbers were quite...Read More

Another Modest Drop in Mortgage Apps, But Next Week Should Bounce

8/7/2026 2:22 PM

Mortgage application activity declined for a second consecutive week as higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on both purchase and refinance demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 2.9% decrease in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 31. Purchase applications decreased 4% from ...Read More

Cap Mkts Education, Mortgage Ops Support, QC, Flood Cert Tools; Weak Jobs Data

8/7/2026 10:52 AM

As many of us prepare to head to So Cal for the California MBA’s Western Secondary (800 or so registered), artificial intelligence continues to be the buzz. I recently received this question: “Rob, does it seem to you that we’re now at the same inflection point with AI as when everyone was afraid that DU & LP were going to replace all the under...Read More

---