evan@evanhitch.com

The day began on a fairly hopeful note for the mortgage market. During overnight trading hours, the bond market improved following a report regarding a peace framework sent to Iran by The U.S.  When bonds improve, rates fall, all else equal. The gains were modest, but they allowed the average lender to set their first […]

Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Spring homebuying season is in full swing, and for many lenders, that also means a surge in home equity demand as borrowers tap rising property values. But growth can expose cracks. Every handoff, re-entry, and system switch adds time and increases the risk of human error. FirstClose is

Bonds and oil rallied again in the overnight session, though not as swiftly as they did yesterday. News was thinner, but there was still an obvious catalyst just before 3am with a WSJ report that the U.S. provided Iran a detailed framework to end the war. The line item that caught the market’s attention was

Pre-Market Gains Stuck Around All Day The entirety of the domestic trading session was very flat compared to the ground covered during the overnight session. Pre-market headlines regarding a potential peace deal accounted for a 7bp drop in 10yr yields and 3/8th point improvement in MBS. 10s gained about 1 more bp by the close

Mortgage rates spiked sharply on Monday, hitting the highest levels in more than a month as escalation fears ramped up surrounding the Iran war. Yesterday technically saw some recovery, but it may as well have been an “unchanged” day. Now today, we’re seeing a more legitimate recovery with the average lender back down to last

“What do you call an aging actor who has finally paid off his house? Mortgage freeman.” Servicing is a highly important component of that, and I was fortunate to attend Sagent Ignite in Phoenix yesterday; we have a special live podcast today that was recorded from the event. Mortgagees follow demographics, whether it be aging

There was one, big, obvious market mover overnight. At 4:50am ET, Axios reported that the U.S. and Iran are close to signing a one page memo of understanding to end the war. Oil and bond yields were already in recovery mode, but this kicked things into higher gear. Most of the gains remain even after

Data Didn’t Hurt, But Bonds Underperformed The Oil Price Recovery Today’s headline is somewhat misleading. It points out the fact that oil prices made it back to yesterday’s lows whereas bond yields didn’t even come close. This is all true, assuming we’re looking at front month oil prices. But if we use a longer-term futures

One popular refrain in the mortgage industry is that rates take the escalator on the way up and the stairs on the way down. Yesterday was definitely an “escalator” sort of day with the average lender moving up 0.12% for a top-tier 30yr fixed rate. Based on improvement in the bond market, rates are lower

Broker and Correspondent Products NFTYDoor, an end-to-end digital HELOC platform, is now operating as a fully independent company, enabling direct partnerships with wholesale brokers and private label correspondents. Brokers are already active on the new structure, submitting applications and closing loans today with no waiting period supported by NFTYDoor’s combination of AI-powered origination and real