Mortgage Rate Intelligence & Market Updates

In the first two posts of this three-part series, we discussed private market participants that are active in repo markets for profit-making motives. Central banks are also active repo market participants, but their reasons often differ from those of private participants. In today’s post, we discuss how central banks use repos to manage liquidity in the financial system and implement monetary policy.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now allow VantageScore 4.0 as an alternative to Classic FICO for eligible loans

With 860,000 public housing units remaining, Congress locks in RAD authorization and extends its reach as investment totals $28.4 billion

Court cites 35%-40% referral fees and claims of 60% audience share in denying Zillow’s motion to dismiss

Homes are expensive, the market is slow, and buyers are wary. But some cities favor sellers. Learn if you should sell your house now, or wait.

The post Should I Sell My House Now? appeared first on Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.

Austin, Houston buyers gain choices as sellers cut prices

Big Intraday Round Trip For Bonds; Williams Helped

Bonds spent the first half of the day pressing into even weaker levels in spite of a respectable drop in oil prices. Data and headlines had little to no bearing on the selling. If anything, the biggest scapegoat is the combination of bearish momentum and quarter-end trading (something we’re extrapolating from the mirror-image correlation between stocks and bond yields). 10yr yields crested 5.29% at their weakest levels–right in line with the only obvious nearby technical level from 2007. Bearishness reversed at 2pm when Fed Gov Williams said he didn’t see a need for urgency after the September rate hike. Fed Funds Futures rallied quickly and the entire yield curve (apart from 30yr bonds) ended up making it back to positive territory by the close. 

Econ Data / Events

Case Shiller Home Prices-20 y/y (Jul)

2.5% vs 2.2% f’cast, 2.1% prev

FHFA Home Price Index m/m (Jul)

0.3% vs 0.1% f’cast, 0% prev

CB Consumer Confidence (Sep)

81.9 vs 89.2 f’cast, 89.4 prev

USA JOLTS Job Openings (Aug)

7.079M vs 7.23M f’cast, 7.271M prev

Market Movement Recap

08:58 AM MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down less than 1bp at 5.231

10:05 AM Heavy selling between 9:30am and 10am. Bouncing modestly after 10am data. MBS down over an eighth and 10yr up 1.1bps at 5.25

02:26 PM MBS down a quarter point, but well off the weakest levels after Williams’ comments implying no urgent need for additional rate hikes. 10yr still up 2.6bps at 4.267

Zillow reports that new homes in July sold at $205 per square foot, compared with $212 for existing homes

An open house can put your home in front of buyers who’d never have booked a private showing, which is often where the interest starts. Here’s what an open house actually does, when it’s worth holding one, and how to tell if it worked.

The post Do Open Houses Sell Homes? Here’s What Actually Helps a Sale appeared first on Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.