LoanDepot will integrate Figure’s proprietary credit and loan underwriting engine into its own proprietary mello technology platform and point of sale system.

The 30-year fixed fell to 6.37% after a two-week ceasefire tempered war-driven volatility, but economists warn the spring housing market faces continued turbulence.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association found gains in March for conforming, jumbo and government-sponsored loan indices for the third consecutive month.

An appellate court reversed part of an $8.5 million award for attorneys who secured a $38.5 settlement against the lender in 2023 in a False Claims Act case.

Roughly Unchanged After Moderate Headline-Driven Volatility

As has been the recent custom, there were dueling headlines concerning the Iran war today with opposing claims regarding the status of the Israel/Lebanon ceasefire. If that sounds like kind of a stretch when it comes to bond market significance, bond traders agreed.  That said, it was still traded to some extent. This resulted in mid-day volatility that took bonds from slightly weaker to slightly stronger territory, and then back to being roughly unchanged. Econ data was a relative non-event in the morning, but Friday’s data has a slightly better chance of garnering a response.

Econ Data / Events

Jobless Claims (Apr)/04

219K vs 210K f’cast, 202K prev

Continued Claims (Mar)/28

1794.0K vs 1840K f’cast, 1841K prev

Core PCE (m/m) (Feb)

0.4% vs 0.4% f’cast, 0.4% prev

Core PCE (y/y) (Feb)

3.0% vs 3% f’cast, 3.1% prev

GDPQ4

0.5% vs 0.7% f’cast, 4.4% prev

GDP Final SalesQ4

0.3% vs 0.4% f’cast, 4.5% prev

Market Movement Recap

08:37 AM Very flat overnight. Slightly weaker after data. MBS down 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr up half a bp at 4.30

10:31 AM weakest levels. MBS down 9 ticks (.28) and 10yr up 1.4bps at 4.311

11:38 AM 10s now down 1bp at 4.285. MBS are within 1 tick (.03) of unchanged.

01:39 PM Best levels of the day for 10s, down 3.2bps at 4.264.  MBS unchanged (also near opening highs).

03:37 PM Off the best levels, but not with sustained selling. MBS down 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down 1bp at 4.288

The overnight session leading into this morning’s open was completely sideways–especially compared to yesterday’s example. The boatload of econ data line items did nothing to change that. Expectations weren’t high anyway. GDP (Q4) and monthly PCE (February) are both too stale to matter. Jobless Claims were a mixed bag with initial claims rising substantially and continued claims falling off a cliff (lowest since May 2024). But again, bonds have done nothing with the data and trading levels are almost perfectly flat to start another day of watching war headlines. 

VantageScore, created in 2006, is a joint venture by the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Will it change your lending process? Possibly. Do government regulations change your lending process? States have trigger lead requirement overlays, over and above what was enacted at the Federal level in March. (Talk to your attorney.) Some states are rumored to be looking at bundling credit report fees, referring to the practice of combining various charges associated with obtaining credit reports into a single, all-inclusive fee, which can “help eliminate hidden costs, improve compliance with regulations, and simplify the pricing structure for consumers and lenders alike.” Some companies, like Birchwood, discuss bundling and transparency. Interest rates are relatively transparent, and on today’s The Big Picture at 3PM ET Chris Bennett of Vice Capital Markets will discuss strategies given shifting rates, geopolitics, and framing hedging given the Fed’s thoughts. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an interview with OFA Group’s Thomas Gaffney on what real problems tokenization solves in mortgage finance today, where it will gain early traction in residential real estate, and how lenders can assess regulatory risk and platform credibility as the market evolves.)

Many borrowers will see no difference between yesterday and today’s mortgage rate quotes. The average lender moved just a hair lower. Once again, the rate market is responding to war-related headlines and their impact on oil prices. Rates don’t always care what oil prices are doing, but at present, there’s more correlation than normal due to the inflation implications from a protracted conflict. Inflation is the true concern for bonds/rates when it comes to oil. Today’s headlines involved various de-escalation anecdotes, mainly centering on Israel and Lebanon. Prior to those headlines, rates were set to match yesterday’s levels. Afterward, the average lender was 0.02% lower for a top tier 30yr fixed rate.

A new Basel III proposal offers mixed results for warehouse lending, with some risk-weight relief for banks but tougher terms that could crimp credit availability for nonbank mortgage lenders.