First American claims Liberty National’s owner changed the company’s name immediately after a judge held her firm liable for an erroneous wire transfer.

The opinion that supports national banks’ ability to avoid paying interest on certain mortgage accounts in New York is unlikely to be the last word.

Alongside its cloud-based brokerage, the company said the acquisition will transform eXp’s existing infrastructure into a multi-model platform.

Lender and servicer Loandepot, reeling from a larger loss in the first quarter, could use the potential funds to cover daily operations or repay debt.

The latest offer, 70 cents per share higher than previously agreed to, equals the cash proposal made by UWM Holdings to win over Two Harbors’ shareholders.

It ended up being a decent round trip for rates this week. Monday kicked things off with a jump to the highest level in more than a month, and the third highest since August 2025. But that ended up being the only day where rates went higher.  Wednesday brough the biggest chunk of the recovery with MND’s daily rate index dropping 0.10%.  Tuesday and Friday (today) each added a 0.02% drop, taking the index to 6.42% after ending last week at 6.44%. War-related headlines were less of a factor today and volatility was unsurprisingly lighter as a result. This is an adjustment for seasoned rate watchers who are used to monthly jobs report being a distinct source of volatility. It’s especially notable that the job count came in significantly higher with no ill effect on bonds/rates. Over the past 6 months, markets have shifted their jobs report focus from the payroll count to the unemployment rate, reversing decades of precedent. Today’s outcome is more logical in that context as the unemployment rate was right in line with expectations at 4.3%.

Calm and Slightly Stronger, But Volatility Will be Back

Once or twice per week, the bond market manages to post a fairly calm trading day against the prevailing backdrop of generally higher volatility. Today was such a day. The most helpful catalyst was an absence of any major war-related headlines and associated oil price volatility. That said, it’s a near certainty that war-related volatility will be back in the coming week. 

Econ Data / Events

Average earnings mm (Apr)

0.2% vs 0.3% f’cast, 0.2% prev

Non Farm Payrolls (Apr)

115K vs 62K f’cast, 178K prev

Participation Rate (Apr)

61.8% vs — f’cast, 61.9% prev

Unemployment rate mm (Apr)

4.3% vs 4.3% f’cast, 4.3% prev

Consumer Sentiment (May)

48.2 vs 49.5 f’cast, 49.8 prev

Sentiment: 1y Inflation (May)

4.5% vs — f’cast, 4.7% prev

Sentiment: 5y Inflation (May)

3.4% vs — f’cast, 3.5% prev

Market Movement Recap

08:32 AM No major reaction to jobs report. MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down 1.5bps at 4.375

10:46 AM Slightly stronger but leveling off.  MBS up 6 ticks (.19) and 10yr down 3.6bps at 4.356

02:13 PM MBS up 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr down 3.5bps at 4.356

New home sales moved higher in March and February. Both months were reported on a single day this week as the Census Bureau continues catching up from the government shutdown.  After dropping to 587k in January, sales rose to 635k in February and 682k in March. This represents a solid bounce back into the center of the broadly sideways range that’s been intact for the past 2 years.  For-sale inventory edged slightly lower to 481,000 , down 0.4% from February and 4.6% below year-ago levels. At the current sales pace, months’ supply fell to 8.5 months , down from 9.1 months in February and 9.2 months one year ago. The decline reflects a combination of stronger sales and modestly tighter inventory. Prices moved lower on both a monthly and annual basis. The median sales price declined to $387,400 (-5.3% MoM; -6.2% YoY), while the average price slipped to $503,100 (-3.4% MoM; -1.2% YoY). The continued softness in pricing suggests a shift in the mix of homes sold and ongoing pressure on affordability.
Sales (MoM): +7.4%
Sales (YoY): +3.3%
Inventory (YoY): -4.6%
Months’ Supply: 8.5 (down from 9.1 prior month; 9.2 YoY)

Mortgage applications declined last week, reversing some of the prior period’s gains as rates climbed to their highest level in a month. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 4.4% decrease on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 1. The decline was broad-based, with both purchase and refinance activity moving lower. The Refinance Index fell 5% from the previous week but remained 29% higher than the same week one year ago. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4% week over week and was still 5% above last year’s level. In the bigger picture, purchase apps remain closer to the highest levels of the past few years. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.45% from 6.37%, marking the highest reading in a month and weighing on overall application volume. Higher borrowing costs, driven in part by ongoing geopolitical tensions, continue to limit refinance incentives while creating some hesitation among prospective buyers. MBA’s Joel Kan said, ” Mortgage rates last week increased to their highest level in a month… elevated rates and shrinking refinance incentives continued to weigh on activity… The refinance share of applications was the lowest since August 2025. ” Kan also noted that while purchase activity softened on a weekly basis, it remains above last year’s pace. The average purchase loan size rose to a record $467,300 , suggesting that higher-priced segments may be driving activity while some entry-level buyers hold back amid affordability pressures.

If you haven’t signed up for the Mortgage Action Alliance, do so. It’s free, has good advocacy information, and there’s strength in numbers. Recent conference chatter includes suggesting that removing politics from the mortgage conversation would be a good thing to attempt, wondering if there’s enough regulatory manpower muscle to take the existing LO comp rules and re-jigger them, some believing that the recent credit score announcements are lacking leave much to be desired, asking why the Fed’s useful Twitter account (Financial Sentiment Index, TFSI) vanished, and suggestions that Southern California’s hottest nightclub was the main ballroom at Mortgage Innovators with its extensive techno play list. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by FirstClose, which provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. Their home equity lending platform accelerates the home equity lending process, reducing application to closing times from 45 days to less than ten. Today we have an interview with Digital Risk’s Kim Lanham on how the Iran conflict and broader geopolitical uncertainty are influencing mortgage rates, borrower decision-making, servicing retention strategies, borrower assistance programs, and emerging credit and fraud risks across both Agency and non-QM lending.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Why Partnering with MSF as Your Sub-Servicer Is a Strategic Advantage: Built for Speed, Service, and Retention. In today’s mortgage servicing landscape, smaller institutions often find themselves working with sub-servicers built for scale, not responsiveness. The result: delayed borrower support, missed engagement opportunities, and lost relationships. MSF Servicing was built to solve that problem. MSF delivers a level of attention larger providers cannot match. Every borrower inquiry, issue, and client request is handled on a same-day or 24-hour basis, because in servicing, speed drives retention. Timely, empathetic responses keep borrowers engaged and relationships intact. Delays create friction; responsiveness builds trust. Led by an industry veteran with deep expertise in customer service and loss mitigation, MSF brings proactive engagement and retention-focused outcomes to every portfolio it manages. The result: a sub-servicing partner who moves at the speed your borrowers expect and delivers the care your brand demands. Contact Rick Smith at 860-989-9006.