Morning Report: UWM reports a YOY volume increase

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Brent Nyitray

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are higher this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are up small.

China has slipped into deflation, which will almost certainly affect developed economies and their fight against inflation. Their consumer price index fell 0.3% year-over-year in July, and their producer price index was down even more.

China has a big issue with its real estate market and another property developer – Country Garden – just missed a payment on its dollar bonds. Country Garden joins Evergrande in the list of troubled property developers. China seems to be following the familiar pattern where a period of supernormal growth triggers a real estate bubble, similar to the US in the early 20th century and Japan in the 70s and 80s. That bubble has burst, and China is grappling with a massive oversupply of property, along with vacant cities built on spec.

The impact on the US will probably be relatively benign. China will probably try and export their way out of the problem, and since their domestic demand is moribund they will run a massive trade surplus. That means China will buy US Treasuries and MBS instead of US goods and services which will help push down rates in the US.

This will take years to play out, but the massive deflationary pulse out of Asia probably isn’t done yet.

Mortgage credit availability slipped in July, according to the MBA. “Mortgage credit availability declined to its lowest level since 2013, as lenders pulled back on underutilized loan programs and as liquidity concerns remain for some jumbo lenders,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Declining origination volumes have led to lower profitability for many lenders, resulting in narrower loan product offerings to reduce operational costs. One key driver of this month’s decline was a drop in cash-out refinance loan programs. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.94 percent in July, more than a percentage point higher than July 2022, and this has significantly discouraged cash-out refinance activity, as borrowers turn to home equity and consumer loans instead. The jumbo index fell for the third straight month, as jumbo lenders further reduce the number of available loan programs.”  

United Wholesale reported second quarter earnings that beat the street, with origination volume climbing to $31.8 billion, which was up 43% compared to the first quarter and up 6.4% compared to a year ago. Gain on sale margin compressed to 88 basis points in Q2 compared to 92 in Q1 and 99 a year ago. Purchase volume was 88% of total volume.

UWM is guiding for third quarter volume to come in between $26 and $33 billion, and gain on sale to range between 75 and 100 basis points. The stock is up about 7% pre-open.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.11, which covers the $0.10 dividend. At current levels, the stock has a dividend yield of 6%.

Filed under: Economy | 16 Comments »