What's New in Real Estate!
Another Nice Drop For Rates, Now Near 1-Month Lows
Interest rates continue taking cues from the market rethinking the pace of AI-related growth/spending. Last week's focus was on Coreweave and a few other companies who saw their cost of financing rapidly increase--a sign that investors were starting to worry about future return of capital. One remedy for such worries is to shift money into the safest parts of the bond market such as US Treasuries and mortgage-backed bonds. As demand for those bonds increases, rates fall. Today was a sharper, broader continuation of the same theme. Disappointing earnings calls and guidance for several big names resulted in heavy selling of tech stocks in addition to ongoing spikes in financing costs for Coreweave and other higher-risk names. In the simplest terms: tech is tanking and bonds are picking up the slack. The average top-tier 30yr fixed rate fell 0.10 today to 7.30%. This is the lowest since September 23rd when it was 7.26%.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 22 Oct 2026 | 7:50 pm
LO Performance, AI Governance, ARM, Non-QM Execution, U/W Tools; In-Person Events Into 2027
Lender and Broker Products, Services, and Software “Ready to get ahead of what’s next in mortgage technology? Join us for the client-exclusive Optimal Blue Summit 2027, taking place Feb. 1 – 3, 2027, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, for hands-on training, insightful breakout sessions, product demonstrations, and conversations with mortgage and business leaders. Hear from special guest Troy Aikman, Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, MBA Chief Economist Michael Fratantoni, Optimal Blue leaders, and more as they explore the market trends, technologies, and strategies shaping the year ahead. Kick off 2027 with actionable insights, new connections, and practical strategies to help your organization move faster and compete more effectively in the year ahead. Register by Oct. 31 to secure the $199 early bird rate and your spot at Optimal Blue Summit 2027.” Is Your AI Governance Program Exam-Ready? Federal regulators, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and state supervisors all set new AI governance expectations in 2026, and examiners now want proof of how lenders, servicers and financial institutions use AI and govern it. ACES’ new guide breaks down all three regulatory fronts, outlines five steps your team can take without adding headcount, and includes a self-assessment to help you find gaps before your next exam. Download the free guide to build an exam-ready AI governance program.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 22 Oct 2026 | 3:02 pm
Don't Overthink It. Same Old (New) Story
Oil prices are up. Bond yields are down sharply. If this was early September, that wouldn't make sense. Bonds decoupled from the oil correlation on Fed week and then REALLY decoupled as stronger econ data was priced in, starting with that very weird S&P PMI reaction on Sept 23. Ever since then, yields have been fumbling around in the dark, trying to find a long-term ceiling. Then Coreweave concerns came to the forefront, slowly at first (October 8) and then swiftly last week. Once again today, Coreweave bond drama is directly linked to this morning's sharpest movement toward lower yields.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 22 Oct 2026 | 1:18 pm
Ultimately Flat After Options-Driven Volatility
Ultimately Flat After Options-Driven Volatility Treasuries continued in the same sideways holding pattern seen over the past 4 trading sessions. This generally mirrors a holding pattern in certain tech companies' credit risk metrics. In short, bonds currently have nothing better to do than wait and see if tech is experiencing some kind of true inflection point or just a false alarm. Today was set to be especially boring as a result, but there was some afternoon volatility surrounding the options expiration cut-off (which affected both Treasuries and stocks). Even then, the net effect of that volatility was less than 1.5bps of weakness in 10yr yields (5.124 after the dust settled versus 5.112 before the spike).Source: Mortgage News Daily | 21 Oct 2026 | 8:51 pm
Mortgage Rates End Flat After Starting Slightly Lower
It was another ho-hum day for mortgage rates, which is more of the exception than the rule these days. But we're not complaining! The uneventful, sideways movement means rates are holding in line with the lowest levels in nearly a month. Today would have been slightly lower than yesterday had it not been for some mid-day weakness in the underlying bond market. While there were a few war-related headlines that coincided with the timing, the volatility is more attributable to esoteric trader positioning considerations in the Treasury options market.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 21 Oct 2026 | 7:58 pm
Fulfillment, Home Price Performance, Borrower Assistance Tools; Webinars; Non-Agency Products
Let’s see what’s in my electronic mailbag. “Rob, is it true that LOs can now join the MBA directly?” Yup. There’s MBA Homebase that provides loan officers with education, coaching, professional development, and a stronger voice in the mortgage industry. It is open to loan officers at every lender and across every origination channel, regardless of whether their company is an MBA member. “Rob, I watched President Trump talk about Montana being helped, financially, by Fannie and Freddie. Is that legal?” Hah, define “legal.” Montana has about 10,000 sales a year, $3 billion divided by 10,000 is $300,000. He is just saying that Fannie and Freddie are going to keep doing what they always have done: facilitate home loans? Or will Bill Pulte have state-based loan level price adjustments, which some may view as politically based? Stay tuned. “Rob, since Clinton and Congress last balanced the budget, we’ve had a deficit. Why do we care now?” First off, it’s a huge, unimaginable number, and no politician even wants to talk about it. Let’s face it: we’re spending money that we don’t have. The U.S. government, with its $40 trillion in debt, isn't the only one with a debt problem. 1 in 5 Americans fell behind on a loan or mortgage payment in 2025, according to new data from the Federal Reserve. That figure is up from 1 in 8 Americans in 2022 and marks the highest level since 2007. Why is it happening, and what will it mean for the economy? (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by Experian. Experian Verify’s integration with Workday gives mortgage lenders broader access to reliable, up-to-date income and employment data, streamlining verification, enhancing efficiency, and delivering a smoother borrower experience from application to closing. Today’s has an interview with Knock’s Sean Black on the company’s buy-before-you-sell program, which allows homeowners to access their existing home equity to purchase a new home before selling their current one.)Source: Mortgage News Daily | 21 Oct 2026 | 3:51 pm
Waiting For Whatever's Next
We find ourselves in a bit of a lull in the bond market this week, and we don't object! Yields aren't screaming back up toward recent highs. Nor are they extending last week's swift rally. Both would cause problems for different reasons. Consolidating last week's rally in this narrow, sideways pattern is arguably the very best thing that could have happened this week. Whatever happens next is likely to be driven by a combination of the evolving narrative on tech sector concerns, econ data, and the Fed policy stance (which is really just a function of the econ data). In general, it is the tech sector narrative that has kept us in this week's lull. There too, investors are waiting for whatever's next.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 21 Oct 2026 | 2:21 pm
Tech Concerns Keeping Bonds in The Game
Tech Concerns Keeping Bonds in The Game There was some oil price volatility today that looked like it might line up with some of the intraday volatility in the bond market. This may have actually been relevant between 10:10 and 10:30am as various rumors circulated regarding a draft deal. But the general trading range of Treasuries/MBS has been facilitated by the ongoing focus on potential credit concerns for a few key tech names. Coreweave is front and center with today's corporate bond volatility lining up very well with the AM Treasury volatility. Specifically, the height of Coreweave's yield spike lined up perfectly with the best level in Treasuries. Bonds ultimately ended the day slightly stronger--keeping them comfortably in the lower range seen since last Thursday. Econ Data / Events Building permits 1.400m vs 1.390m Housing Starts 1.221m vs 1.300m Market Movement Recap 02:50 PM Early gains and a subsequent bounce lined up with Coreweave's stock price bottoming out and and recovering. Oil prices were possibly a consideration, but we're cautious about expecting much correlation there based on the very disconnected trading of the past month.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 20 Oct 2026 | 8:37 pm
Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower
Mortgage rates dropped 0.03% today on average leaving the top-tier 30yr fixed rate index at 7.40% vs 7.43% yesterday--the third lowest level in more than 3 weeks. As has been and continues to be the case, the lower rates seen since last Wednesday are primarily being driven by concerns about deleveraging and potential contagion in the AI sector. One of the most closely-watched bellwethers has been Coreweave where a sharp decline in stock prices and sharp increase in corporate bond yields has broadly mirrored recent moves in interest rates. Some of today's intraday volatility can also be viewed in the context of oil prices and war-related headlines, but we'd caution against placing too much emphasis on the oil price correlation. It's been highly unreliable for more than a month.Source: Mortgage News Daily | 20 Oct 2026 | 6:45 pm
