Origination has picked up but has limits, retention rates are improving and stakeholders are seeking a recapture standard, experts at an industry meeting said.

The hidden costs of homeownership total nearly $16,000, rising 4.7% in the past year.

The lender, which crossed the $1 billion origination mark for the second consecutive quarter, is bullish on several new mortgage partnerships.

A 50-year mortgage would make borrowers susceptible to higher interest rates, significantly more payable interest and slower equity gains, LendingTree analysis showed.

For the second consecutive week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased as investors were still sorting through the lack of information due to the shutdown.

Moderately Weaker With Only The Reopening to Blame

The government reopened on Thursday.  Both stocks and bonds sold off moderately in response. The bond market weakness is in line with our expectations for a confirmed reopening based on the simple logic that a prolonged shutdown would have been increasingly detrimental to economic growth. Comments from a few Fed speakers added fuel to the fire by calling a December rate cut into question.  That said, assuming the big-ticket econ data is back up and running by then, the outcome of those reports will likely add clarity to rate cut expectations (or lack thereof). In case anyone needs the reminder, econ data WILL NOT simply resume on its previous calendar. Releases that were on the schedule will be delayed until further notice and we continue waiting for an updated release schedule from data agencies.

Econ Data / Events

ADP Weekly Payrolls (Tue, 11/11)

-11k 

Market Movement Recap

10:14 AM Weaker overnight and a bit more selling in the past few minutes.  MBS down 5 ticks (.16) on the day and 3 ticks (.09) since rate sheets.  10yr up 4.8bps at 4.113

12:24 PM Best levels of the day in Treasuries with 10yr up only 3bps at 4.096.  MBS down an eighth of a point. 

01:11 PM A bit weaker after 30yr auction.  MBS down 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr up 4.5bps at 4.111

03:23 PM New Lows.  MBS down a quarter point and 10yr up 5bps at 4.114

Mortgage rates rose somewhat sharply following the late October Fed meeting but have been in a relatively narrow range so far in November.  The range is so narrow, in fact, that yesterday’s average rate was at the bottom of that range while today’s rate is closer to the highs. Given the minimal overall movement, there’s no compelling need to account for underlying market motivations. To be sure, there was no new economic data that caused weakness in the underlying bond market. That leaves only the reopening of the government as a scapegoat. Several days ago, when the end of the shutdown came into focus, we cautioned that it was more likely to put slight upward pressure on rates whenever it was confirmed. This is consistent with the movement seen today. More meaningful momentum will depend on the economic data that is once again in the cards now that government agencies are open. The only caveat is that we’re still waiting on updated release schedules for those reports.

In news underwriters will need to know, banks and satirists across the United States are taking Director Bill Pulte’s and President Donald Trump’s 50-year mortgage suggestion are running with it. They (the underwriters) would now require an applicant’s grandkids to co-sign on a 50-year mortgage “just in case” as part of the approval equation. What happens when you leave out a key part of the equation? (Skip ahead to the two-minute mark for another chuckle.) The IT staffs of lenders and vendors are always on guard not to leave out any part of any equation, and they may have some interest in this: ClickFix may be the biggest security threat your family has never heard of, as it is a relatively new technique that can bypass many endpoint protections. (Don’t confuse it with Click n’ Close, a fine company in the correspondent & wholesale space! (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by TransUnion. Mortgage lenders choose TransUnion for their identity-focused, data-driven mortgage insights and solutions, enabling them to achieve more desirable lending outcomes in a volatile housing market. Hear an interview with MeridianLink’s JP Kelly on how evolving credit scoring models, real-time analytics, and data integration are reshaping mortgage lending, from improving credit inclusivity and compliance to accelerating decision-making and redefining competition in a data-driven marketplace.) Services, Products, Software, and Tools for Lenders and Brokers

First off, the market expected a shutdown resolution by mid November and especially since this past weekend.  That’s the reason today’s news means essentially nothing in terms of being a surprise headline.  On the data front, today is also meaningless in the short term. It’s not as if the backlog of econ data will suddenly be released. The only exception is the September jobs report, which could still be released this week since it was largely ready to go before the shutdown. As for the initial reaction in bonds, it’s been modestly weaker, as expected, but not weak enough to offset yesterday’s gains so far.

A Georgia resident filed the suit after receiving two unsolicited calls from the lender in October even though her number appeared on the Do Not Call registry.