Home price appreciation slowed further in March and through the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest data from both FHFA and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. While national prices continued to edge higher on a nominal basis, both reports pointed to a housing market struggling to maintain momentum as affordability pressures […]

U.S. home foreclosures are accelerating: filings rose 26 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, to roughly 119k, the highest in six years. It’s expensive to own a home! The last time they hit this level (early 2020), government relief programs and pandemic stimulus caused them to decline. As everyone in our biz knows, the increase has

Bonds were flat overnight for a change, with just a bit of 2-way volatility but no notable directional movement. Without any new or interesting war-related headlines, what else can we even discuss in May, 2026? There’s some econ data in the form of the highest Chicago PMI reading since 2022.  At 62.7 vs a 50.5

Spoiler Alert: Yes, It Was War Headlines Need a way to explain overnight weakness in the bond market? War headlines. Need to know why bonds rallied sharply just after 10am ET to hit the best levels in 2 weeks? Yep, more war headlines. Granted, the 8:30am econ data was not completely ignored. A slightly softer-than-expected

We were close yesterday and we officially arrived today. Mortgage rates may still be elevated compared to almost all of the past 10 months, but they’re the lowest they’ve been since May 14th.  This was accomplished with a modest drop versus yesterday’s levels after another round of news on a potential U.S./Iran peace deal. This

What is something that small and mid-sized lenders can’t offer? Chase rolled out a program for borrowers to earn 100,000 Chase Points. (Bilt and UWM rolled out something similar a while back.) But, nearly every lender can help borrowers with the cost of a mortgage, and STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.”

There’s a supertanker load of data this morning with some apparently interesting results, but the market remains focused primarily on supertankers being able to transport oil. Those prospects were dealt a fresh blow overnight as both sides reported renewed attacks. Bond yields and oil prices jumped clearly in response, but not in an overly aggressive

In a Shocking Twist, Bonds Relive Another Groundhog Day The present week began on a stronger note thanks to news that came out on Monday regarding a U.S./Iran peace deal being within reach. This time around, it was the fact that Iran’s state TV shared a draft of the framework for the memo that serves

Early in the trading session, the bond market began improving in response to more updates on a potential Iran peace deal. When bonds improve, rates fall, but the initial reaction proved short-lived.  Thankfully, the reversal didn’t do any new damage. This allowed the average lender to keep rates right in line with yesterday’s 6.61% for

How ‘bout this one: A firefighter went to the college graduation ceremony for a baby he helped deliver many years ago. Loan originators can be involved in many life events of their clients as well, as the months and years roll on, something that a software program can’t do. They’re also in a great position