Mortgage Rates

It is no secret that Congress and regulators have trouble keeping up with technology. But is an AI “conversation” with a borrower any different than a questionnaire given to that same borrower? Will the line be drawn at RESPA items? Can regulators audit transcripts of AI “conversations” without court orders? (One way to have the […]

The average top-tier mortgage rates made it back to 5.99% yesterday for the first time since January 9th and only the second time in more than 3 years. With rates holding perfectly steady today, this is the 3rd day that matches that multi-year low. In one important way, the past 2 days represent a bigger

Calmly Holding in Super Strong Territory MBS may not be quite as high as they were yesterday, but in the bigger picture, today’s levels are right in line with the best we’ve seen in more than 3 years. More importantly, mortgage rates are verifiably at the best levels in more than 3 years. There was

Volume and volatility is lower this morning compared to yesterday, but the same theme of risk aversion looks to be in play, probably.  Why “probably?” Because the theme in question (risk aversion, or what we sometimes refer to as the “stock lever”) oftentimes makes it hard to distinguish between correlation and causality. All we know

At the Optimal Blue Summit going on now, sessions range from AI to loan officer tools to market strategy, product unveilings built to transform pricing, trading, and profitability. Will AI help? A study published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that among 6,000 CEOs, chief financial officers, and other executives from

General Risk Aversion Trade Helping Bonds Bonds began the day in just barely stronger territory but continued to improve throughout. The first rally followed the 8:20am CME open–a common time of day to see a bit of extra momentum and volume. The next leg of the rally played out in the 10am hour which is

Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders When every basis point counts and staffing doesn’t magically scale with volume, servicers need automation that works as hard as they do. That’s exactly how Dark Matter Technologies delivers Elevate, a loan servicing solution designed for real-world operators who need more than a system that simply “generates

This coverage is coming out earlier than normal due to a more interesting headline than normal. The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate fell back to 5.99% today, matching the levels seen only briefly back on January 9th, 2026 when the Fannie/Freddie bond buying plans were announced. Much like the last time, there’s always a risk

Bonds dictate mortgage rates and bonds experienced a bit of volatility this morning in response to the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. The initial impact was negative for rates with Treasury yields moving higher and the prices for mortgage-backed securities moving lower. But the reaction was well-contained and bonds ended up erasing most of it

Tariff Ruling Tried (And Failed) to Steal The Show If you were told ahead of time that Friday morning would bring news that the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs, you wouldn’t be crazy to think it would be the week’s biggest news and a big potential source of volatility for bonds. But reality