Today’s trivia: Missouri and Tennessee are tied for bordering the most states: eight. This week I head to Missouri, the jumping off point for thousands of wagon trains heading west in the mid-1800s. Back then, land grants were relatively common but home loans weren’t, LTVs were high, and repayment was usually within five years. Deals were done with a handshake. Fast forward to today, and we have Fannie Mae dropping its minimum credit score requirements and relying more on DU to assess borrowers. The topics brought up or publicized recently by the Trump Administration include mortgage portability, 50-year mortgage amortization, tech companies doing business deals (with the GSEs with possibly an ownership stake in their companies), and assumability. The last thing we, as an industry need, is being accused of wrongdoing, but unfortunately, under the leadership of Bill Pulte and the FHFA, Fannie Mae allegedly shared pricing information with Freddie Mac. Many of us have been in meetings where Agency counsel attended specifically to ensure that price is not discussed! Some are saying that Mr. Pulte, who reports to the boards of Freddie and Fannie, may be a liability to President Trump who is just trying to improve affordability. Stay tuned. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Figure. Figure is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. And, embedding their technology is easy. Hear an interview with MBA’s Joel Kan on the mortgage industry’s cautiously optimistic outlook, with steady purchase activity, emerging refi opportunities, and expected annual originations above $2 trillion, despite regional housing softness, a gradually weakening labor market, and uncertain short-term impacts from AI.)

The jobs report (for September) will be released on Thursday. It is the first major econ data to re-appear after the shutdown. Notably, that’s because it was ready to publish at the time of the shutdown (so don’t expect a flood of other announcements). By the time it comes out, we’ll have been waiting 1.5 months for a report that otherwise would have come out in early October. On one hand, that’s kind of stale. On the other hand, it’s the jobs report. Despite the time lag, it can absolutely have an impact (consider that NFP revisions or the always-stale job openings numbers frequently have an impact). That said, we wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as potent as a more timely release.
One day prior, the Fed Minutes release is a bit more interesting than normal considering the wave of hawkish messaging last week (it certainly seems like the Fed was actively trying to prep markets for unfriendly minutes).

Delinquencies are at their second highest level in three years, led by deterioration in the performance of FHA loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Bayview Asset Management and three affiliates reached an agreement in a data breach lawsuit for an incident that impacted 5.8 million customers.

The acquisition agreement is the latest example of merger activity this year focused on the recapture potential held within servicing pipelines.

While Fitch and Kroll have differing views on mortgage rates next year, both are looking for mortgage delinquencies to rise in their rated portfolios.

The fintech had over $2 billion in home equity line of credit volume in the third quarter and reported growing production in its crypto and non-QM offerings.

Gains Completely Erased; Stocks Looking More Culpable

Viewed in a vacuum, this mornings 7-8am rally remains enigmatic. There was some small case to be made that stock losses played a role, but the bond buying definitely didn’t line up with stocks in a normal way (i.e. it looked like there was some third variable that caused the bond rally to play out in a much more concentrated way). But as the day progressed, we saw stronger evidence of correlation between stock prices and bond yields. Specifically, a sharp rebound in stocks at the 9:30am NYSE open coincided with an equally sharp reversal in bonds. Yields ultimately leveled off 2.5-3bps higher on the day with MBS spending the afternoon in just barely weaker territory.

Econ Data / Events

ADP Weekly Payrolls (Tue, 11/11)

-11k 

Market Movement Recap

08:39 AM Initially weaker overnight, but now stronger after a big rally at 7am-730am. MBS up 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr down 5bps at 4.067

09:58 AM giving up most of the AM gains.  10yr down less than half a bp at 4.112.  MBS still up 3 ticks (.09) but down 5 ticks (.16) from AM highs. 

12:24 PM New lows.  MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr up 2.7bps at 4.142

04:22 PM Heading out near weakest levels. MBS down 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr up 3bps at 4.145

Mortgage rates were only modestly higher on Friday, but because of the narrow prevailing range and previous increases this week, that brings us right in line with 2-month highs. Bonds (which dictate rates) began the day with promise. There was heavy buying (good for rates) in the 7am hour. This coincided with stocks challenging their lowest levels in weeks.  But both stocks and bonds bounced back in the 9am hour. Bonds ultimately erased all of the morning’s gains and, thus, the hope for today’s mortgage rates to be lower than yesterday’s. 

Mortgage applications posted a modest increase last week, even as rates ticked slightly higher. According to MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending November 7, total volume rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis and dipped 1% unadjusted. The Refinance Index fell 3% from the previous week but remains 147% higher than the same week one year ago. Despite the pullback, refi activity is still running at levels far stronger than anything seen in 2023 or 2024. Larger-balance borrowers continue to drive the category, though rising rates led to the smallest average refinance loan size in more than a month. Viewed in context, refi demand is still well into post-2020 recovery territory, even if weekly swings look choppy. “Purchase applications picked up almost 6 percent over the week to the strongest pace since September, despite mortgage rates increasing slightly, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.34 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase applications for conventional, FHA, and VA loans increased, as potential homebuyers continue to shop around, particularly in markets where inventory has increased and sales price growth has slowed. Based on the unadjusted purchase index for the week, this was the strongest start to November since 2022.” He added that higher rates cooled refi demand, particularly among conventional and VA borrowers. Purchase activity rose 6% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 3% unadjusted, climbing 31% above the same week a year ago. After the slower stretch in late summer and early fall, purchase volume is finally showing signs of seasonal resilience.