Vista Equity Partners put funds into the regulatory technology firm, which Asurity Technologies has partnered with since 2015.

The financial services unit also made a categorization change that revised comparisons to prior periods and will be working with its REIT affiliate in new ways.

Russell Vought, should he be confirmed by the full Senate, would join a short list of those able to lead the CFPB, as his predecessor Mick Mulvaney did, per the requirements of the Vacancies Act.

The Long Island-based company, which is in the middle of a makeover, saw its stock price rise sharply after reporting a net loss that was less than what analysts expected.

Interest rates are driven by the bond market and bonds are at their best levels in over a month. As such, it’s no surprise that mortgage rates are able to make a similar claim.  In fact, we’d need to go back to December 20th to see a lower average rate for top tier 30yr fixed mortgages. The catch is that today’s rate is so close to yesterday’s that many borrowers may see no difference at all. In turn, yesterday’s rates were also effectively unchanged from the previous 2 days. In other words, it’s been a very flat week and today just happens to be microscopically better than the rest. Markets did a respectable job of digesting this morning’s economic data, which put some upward pressure on bond yields and, thus, implied upward pressure on mortgage rates. Tomorrow’s data brings another opportunity for some volatility. The PCE price index is one of the two main inflation reports that comes out each month. If it’s much higher or lower than expected, rates could react accordingly (with higher inflation implying higher rates and vice versa).

Solid Showing In Spite of Data and Uncertainty

The relevance of economic data increased this morning with the release of Q4 GDP and Jobless Claims.  Neither were good for rates although neither were especially bad. Right after the data, the overnight rally gave way to moderate selling pressure and, ultimately, a return to unchanged levels for MBS in the 11am hour. After that, volatility was minimal despite lingering uncertainty on the tariff implementation that was originally slated for February 1st. 

Econ Data / Events

GDP Q4

2.3 vs 2.6 f’cast, 3.1 prev

PCE prices

2.5 vs 2.5 f’cast

Jobless Claims

207k vs 220k f’cast, 223k prev

Market Movement Recap

08:41 AM Slightly weaker after data but still in positive territory.  MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down 2.7bps at 4.513

01:27 PM Steady weakness after data, but flat since 11am.  MBS unchanged and 10yr down 1.8bps at 4.522

04:34 PM Some volatility surrounding fabricated headlines on Trump tariffs. MBS unchanged and 10yr down 1.7bps at 4.523

Any capital markets person will tell you, “What’s a surefire way to double your money in a casino? Fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.” I am in Las Vegas for First Colony’s Loan Officer Retreat, watching the tragic air news from Washington, and the MBA’s IMB in Austin has come to a successful conclusion. Yesterday the talk in the hallways was about “Donald Trump rescinding his OMB freeze. (There are other ways to accomplish his goals.) At the IMB, innovation is alive and well. How about a bank that shows you your carbon footprint on your statement? (Contact Dawn S. with questions about CI&T Bank.) There’s newzip, a “centralized real estate platform.” (Reach out to Casey H. with questions) There’s AMC Encore, sister company of RSDS Appraisal Diversity for appraiser training. (Contact COO Randy F. with questions.) Of course, the future of the CFPB’s focus is at play, as well as its action against Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp. for discriminatory mortgage lending activities that discouraged homebuyers from applying to Draper for homes in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the greater Chicago and Boston areas. (Really? Lenders discourage potential customers?) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Figure. 50 percent of the top IMB’s use them, and if you haven’t examined your HELOC & HELOAN strategy recently, it’s time to get on it. Hear an interview with Depth’s Kerri Milam on relationship management and brand awareness for individuals and companies in the mortgage industry.)

Bonds rallied in overnight trading. The move was exceptionally linear, without any obvious regard for movement in equities or European bonds. Yields were at session lows ahead of the 8:30am data, but have moved steadily higher afterword.  The early weakness almost perfectly offsets the overnight gains, leaving bonds close to unchanged heading into the PM hours.

GDP and Jobless Claims could equally contribute to the move.  Although GDP came in weaker than expected, the “whisper” numbers were lower as traders expected an even bigger hit from a rush of pre-tariff import activity.  The jobless claims result was more straightforward as 2025 has now dropped to the lowest level of non-adjusted, week by week jobless claims compared to recent relevant years.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for December this morning.  Pending sales measures the number signed purchase contracts for existing homes. As such, the index is a good early indicator for Existing Home Sales in the coming month. Pending sales dropped 5.5% from last month, which was the highest level for the index since April 2023. Sales had also been on a 4 month winning streak.  In other words, sales activity remains in solid territory, in the upper middle portion of the range over the past year.  As is the case with most housing-related metrics, that range is at historically low levels.  Regional breakdown of monthly and (year-over-year changes):
Northeast 

-8.1% (-1.3%)

Midwest

-4.9% (-6.9%)

South

-2.7% (-5.1%)

West

-10.3% (-5.1%)

Mortgage experts were expecting the first FOMC meeting under President Trump would have more significance in the long run than short-term, with some wild cards.