Kevin O'Connor's (rates01) Blog

We've all heard the the radio advertisements promoting "no cost rates" and most homeowners have wondered; is this really true? And how can blame them, no cost rates seem to good to be true. I'll break down what a no cost rate actually means, how different lenders have different definitions and wh...

Tomorrow is the beginning of four days of fairly important economic reports and we're getting closer to the signing of the Phase One trade deal with China. For the most part the trade deal is "baked into" the bond markets so consumer mortgage rates should not be significantly impacted as we move ...

Two nights ago bonds were staging a significant overnight rally on news reports that Iran was firing missiles and US military bases. Before the overnight rally the 10 year yield was around 1.82% and it plummeted to below 1.70% before moving higher by morning. With news that there were no US casua...

Mortgage rates in January, 2020 are starting off the month near their recent lows as the Mortgage Backed Securities market and Treasury market improve during this first week of January. Last weeks Chicago PMI report, Consumer Confidence report and ISM Manufacturing report, which were all weaker t...

An important disclosure in the home loan process is the Loan Estimate. You should always read all of the disclosures a mortgage company issues but if you have to pick just one then it deffinetly would be the Loan Estimate. This disclosures is issued within three days of a completed Loan Applicati...

It's being reported that the United States killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike yesterday. While pundits focus on the implications of what was done to US interest in the region and the 60,000 Americans who live in the Middle East, I am going to focus on what this means...

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday. The Mortgage Backed Securities market looked like it was going to start the day in negative territory however right at the open there was a quick reversal and bonds started to rally. Great way to start off 2020.  FNMA 3.5 coupon is at 102.92, a...