Stocks are flattish as the cease-fire appears to hold. Bonds and MBS are up small.
Consumer inflation rose 0.9% in March, according to BLS. Rising gasoline prices drove the increase. The headline number rose 0.9% MOM and 3.3% YOY. The annual number was a touch below expectations. The core rate rose 0.2% MOM and 2.6% YOY, which was below expectations.
The February PCE Price Index rose 0.4% MOM and 2.8% annually. The core PCE rate rose 0.4% MOM and 3.0% YOY.
If you look at the housing price indices, home price appreciation is flattening and rolling over. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that price cuts are increasing, especially in oversupplied states like Texas and Florida. Redfin reports that 34% of homes had a price cut in February, a record for that month. The average cut was about $41k or 7.3%.
Mortgage credit availability improved in March, according to the MBA. “Credit availability increased modestly in March to its highest level since August 2022, with growth across all loan types. Despite the increase, overall credit supply is still closer to the lower end of its historical range,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Although March was volatile for mortgage rates and they moved higher over the month, there was growth in streamline refinance programs for lower credit score borrowers. Additionally, the jumbo index increased for the third consecutive month, driven by greater availability of non-QM loan programs.”
It seems like every correspondent lender out there is buying non-QM paper these days.
Filed under: Economy |
All Things in Moderation 