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Wake Joe up before the economy go goes … down any further. Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 9, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent compared with the...

The ongoing insurance crisis in Florida, fueled by the exodus of major insurers and the increased risk of extreme weather events, could trigger a downturn in the state's real estate market, experts told Newsweek. Homeowners in the Sunshine State currently pay the highest insurance premiums in the country. Floridians pay private insurers an average premium of about $6,000 a year, according to the latest data from the Insurance Information Institute, or Triple I, according to Barron's and CNN Business, compared to the national average of $1,700. Few people can self-ensure against the loss of their homes, and banks require an...

The Federal Reserve has line on you! The Federal Reserve has tightened their monetary manipulations to combat inflation caused by loose monetary policy and excessive spending by Biden and Congress. The result? US conforming 30-year mortgage rates are up 8.3% since last year and up a whopping 141% since the beginning of 2021 (the year Biden was selected to be President). Check out mortgage rate GROWTH (blue line) as M2 Money growth *green line) went negative (orange box). This graph corresponds nicely with this chart of YoY changes in The Fed Funds rate. Which is still rising at a rate...

After Mr.Cooper and LoanCare, it's loanDepot's turn to confirm an attack The company has notified its customers of some problems it was having via an X post that noted: "loanDepot is experiencing a cyber incident, which is affecting our phone lines. We are working diligently to return to normal business operations as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience." "loanDepot is experiencing a cyber incident. We have taken certain systems offline and are working diligently to restore normal business operations as quickly as possible,” it said in a separate announcement. "We are working quickly to understand the extent of...

Mortgage rates fell for the ninth week in a row amid signs that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next year. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 6.61 percent as of Dec. 28, down from 6.67 percent the previous week, according to new data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates dipped below 7 percent in mid-December for the first time since August after the Federal Reserve forecasted rate cuts next year. “The rapid descent of mortgage rates over the last two months stabilized a bit this week, but rates continue to trend down,” said Sam Khater,...

Are US financial conditions loose as a goose? Despite resilience in US data, 30Y Yields have plunged back below the 4.00% Maginot Line this morning… Source: Bloomberg The last few weeks have seen US macro data reverse its recent trend of disappointment… Source: Bloomberg The long-end of the curve is outperforming… Source: Bloomberg But, ‘do not fight The Fed’ seems to be the narrative and expectations for a March rate-cut are rising once again… Source: Bloomberg And the market is pricing in over 160bps of cuts for next year… Source: Bloomberg Financial Conditions are now at the same level of...

So much for “The Fed killed inflation” narrative. Inflation is still alive and well in housing prices. Particularly in cities like Miami and Detroit? Maybe the Lions winning their division for the first time in 30 years helped! The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 4.8% annual change in October, up from a 4% change in the previous month. The 10-City Composite showed an increase of 5.7%, up from a 4.8% increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 4.9%, up from a 3.9%...

There is a sudden fire in housing as housing starts soar in November. Housing Starts: Privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,560,000. This is 14.8 percent above the revised October estimate of 1,359,000 and is 9.3 percent above the November 2022 rate of 1,427,000. Single‐family housing starts in November were at a rate of 1,143,000; this is 18.0 percent above the revised October figure of 969,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 404,000. Building Permits: Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at...

A “shrewd and devious” Long Island couple failed to pay their mortgage for at least 14 years, dragged out their foreclosure for more than a decade, and refused to leave after a new family bought the house from the bank, court records show. To make matters worse, one of the alleged interlopers was caught on video telling the legal owner to “go back to Pakistan.” The frustrated owners of the Jericho home claim they’ve shelled out $85,000 and counting to keep up with taxes, mortgage payments, and other bills, while alleged squatters Barry J. Pollack and his wife, Barbara, live...

U.S. mortgage rates dropped below 7 percent for the first time since August, according to new data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates have been falling steadily for the past seven weeks as inflation has eased, and the latest dip follows signs from the Fed on Wednesday that interest rates could come down next year. “Given inflation continues to decelerate and the Federal Reserve Board’s current expectations that they will lower the federal funds target rate next year, we likely will see a gradual thawing of the housing market in the new year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief...

The average monthly mortgage payment in Joe Biden’s America has soared to $3,322, per analysis from the Wall Street Journal. That $3,322 is nearly double the average monthly mortgage payment when His Fraudulency assumed office. When former President Trump left office, the average monthly mortgage payment was $1,787. Homeownership has become a pipe dream for more Americans,” writes the WSJ, “even those who could afford to buy just a few years ago.”

Wells Fargo received an official notice on problems with its use of mortgage rate discounts from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sources said. Wells Fargo hired a law firm to grill mortgage bankers whose sales included high levels of the discounts, said the sources. Several banks received MRAs about lending practices last year, the CFPB said without naming any of the institutions. In their industry review, regulators found “statistically significant disparities” in the rates in which Black and female borrowers got pricing exceptions compared to other customers.

The song “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne comes to mind when analyzing the state of American banking, especially regional banks. Yesterday we found out that inflows to money-market funds continue to be huge ($290BN in six weeks), and more importantly, regional banks’ usage of The Fed’s BTFP bailout facility surged to a new record high (even as regional banks surged… Source: Bloomberg And so, with that shitshow in mind, we await the glorious manipulation of The Fed’s bank deposits data to reinforce that equity confidence. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, banks saw a $53.7BN deposit outflow… Source: Bloomberg However, on...

We are in the house latitudes. Despite declining mortgage rates, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Buying Conditions for Housing fell to 44. Why are buying conditions for houses so low? Well, mortgage rates, despite coming down recently, are still up 151% under Clueless Joe. And home prices are up 33.2% under Biden. So much for affordable housing for those renting. Like the great Shoeles Joe Jackson on ChiSox and Cleveland Indian fame, Clueless Joe Biden cheated too. Except that Shoeless Joe was accused of accepting $5,000 to throw the World Series in 1919. Clueless Joe Biden and family...

On the hotness front, here are the 10 smokin' housing markets. Strange that the hotness score is highest for generally depressed economic cities like Manchester NH, Rochester NY and Rockford IL. Hey, at least Columbus Ohio made the top 10 on the hotness list!

The Federal Home Loan Bank System (comprised of Federal Home Loan Banks or FLUBs) are a major source of American home loans and liquidity … at least until now. The problem is that bank credit growth has been contracting for several weeks now. 18th straight week of negative credit growth. As FLUB advances decline with Fed balance sheet shrinkage. Everything is beautful? Not really. 5 Fed rate hikes priced in for 2024. Yes, its beginning to look a lot like rate cuts. So we are seeing Son of FLUBBER. Except this Flubber is crashing and burning.

The US housing market is goin’ down! While the Case-Shiller National home price index is rising again, it has been slowing since March 2022. This is happening as “the honey pot” (aka, M2 Money printing) growth is now negative. While real hourly compensation growth is slightly, the average rate of growth since April 1, 2021, is -2.1%. (Not exactly what Biden wants to broadcast as a feature of Bidenomics). In the first couple of pandemic years, buyers swarmed the housing market to seize record-low mortgage rates with little regard to home prices. Many of them are now realizing that they...

The US housing and mortgage markets are thunderstruck by The Fed’s attempts are cooling inflation down to 2%. After a small bounce last month – following the puke in August – pending home sales dropped 1.5% MoM in October (better than the 2.0% MoM decline expected). This left YoY sales down 6.6% (negative for the 23rd straight month)… The Pending Home Sales Index dropped back to a new record low… By region, only the Northeast saw an increase in pending sales last month. Sales fell the most in the West, down 6%, while contract signings in the South and Midwest...

Mortgage inferno! Particularly for the mortgage and housing market. But if you want spin the numbers, look at the seasonally-adjusted numbers. I like the unadjusted data better, but they look horrid. Mortgage applications increased 0.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 24, 2023. This week’s results include an adjustment for the observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis,...

Hammer time! With existing home sales collapsing to their lowest SAAR since 2010, new home sales are the only pillar left holding up any hope in the US housing market. However, with housing affordability at its lowest since at least the early 1980s, (and homebuilder sentiment slumping as mortgage rates rose), it’s no surprise that analysts expected new home sales in October to tumble 5.0% MoM (after their unexpected 12.3% surge in September). As a reminder, The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of home-purchase applications tumbled to 120 – the lowest level since 1995 – as mortgage rates hit 8% for...