Mortgage Bond Market Analysis - Hump Day, hopefully in more ways than one.

It's hump day and I'm hoping that means I'm over the hump of being sick.  I've missed the last few days of writing this blog due to being under the weather thanks to incessant winds driving horrible allergies and leading to sickness.  It's really bad in the Las Vegas valley.  

Good Wednesday am (Do you know what day it is, what day it is),

 

Weak data all around. Empire Manufacturing contracted to -1.19 vs. 6.9 prior (consensus 7.17) for the second negative reading in the past two years. New Orders contracted significantly at -6.0 for the second straight monthly decline. Industrial production decreased -0.6% in March (consensus -0.3%) following a +0.1% gain in February. Capacity Utilization for March fell to 78.4% (consensus 78.6%) and February was revised up from 78.9% to 79.0%. Treasury prices are higher this morning (lower yields) after today’s data posted below market expectations across the board but the 10yr is still not breaking through that strong line of resistance at 1.86. Currently we are sitting at 1.88 and mortgage bonds are +15bps on the day. A close below 1.86 will be needed for pricing to improve much more (I think we have tested it 6 or so times).  

 

One bright spot from the NHBA is that Home builders reversed their one month decline in sentiment as the April NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index increased 4 points to 56 from a one-point downwardly revised 52 in March. The bounce back up to the January-February average suggests the March observation was an outliner.

 

Fannie Mae has announced the HomePath Ready Buyer program, qualifying first-time homebuyers to receive up to three percent of the purchase price in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath property, upon completion of an online homebuyer education course. On a $150,000 home, this could result in up to $4,500 in savings for the buyer. In addition, Fannie Mae will reimburse the $75 cost of the homebuyer education course at the time of closing.

“Purchasing your first home can be an overwhelming process,” said Jay Ryan, vice president of REO sales for Fannie Mae. “We developed the HomePath Ready Buyer program to provide first-time homebuyers with the knowledge to make informed decisions as they navigate the complexities of the homebuying process. Closing cost assistance provides a cushion many first-time buyers need to more confidently face the financial responsibilities of homeownership.”

Fannie Mae has partnered with Framework, a non-profit created by the Housing Partnership Network and the Minnesota Homeownership Center, to offer homebuyers a homeownership education course that covers both the complexities of home buying and the responsibilities of owning a home. The course contains nine, 30-minute sessions and is conducted entirely online.

To be eligible for the closing cost assistance and the reimbursement of the training cost:

►Buyers must complete the full online HomePath Ready Buyer training course on www.homepath.com and receive the Certificate of Completion.

►The buyer must be a first-time homebuyer (did not own a property in the past three years) with plans to reside in the property as their primary residence. Auction, pool and investor sales are not eligible.

►The request for closing cost assistance must be made at the initial offer, submitted on or after April 14, 2015.

 

And.. CoreLogic has released its February 2015 National Foreclosure Report which shows that the foreclosure inventory declined by 27.3 percent and completed foreclosures declined by 15.7 percent from February 2014. According to CoreLogic data, there were 39,000 completed foreclosures nationwide in February 2015, down from 46,000 in February 2014 and representing a decrease of 67 percent from the peak of completed foreclosures in September 2010.

 

That is it, make today great!!!