Economy

The Federal Home Loan Bank system issued $37 billion in debt in the last week of March, a sharp drop-off from the $304 billion two weeks earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter.

While they see a meager gain of just 1.2% in 2024, the recovery will pick up steam in the following three years, when prices are forecast to increase 4% annually, a Pulsenomics survey found.

But a monthly increase in housing costs nationwide to start 2023 may point to a bottoming out of prices in many areas, CoreLogic said.

The personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.3% in February, the Commerce Department said.

The Richmond Fed president said he is poised to continue fighting inflation, and supported the decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in March.

However, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield pushed back up 15 basis points from a week ago as the markets settle following the recent bank failures.

The year-over-year drop in January stemmed primarily from loans where a payment had not been made in at least 120 days but shorter-term arrears were higher during the same period.

Home prices nationally fell 0.2% from December, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Fewer than 200 staffers were offered different roles in other parts of the company while a handful, including some loan officers, were let go.

The economic situation is more like what happened during the mid-'80s thrift crisis than the 2008 downturn, said Chief Economist Doug Duncan.

Bond market investors continue to drive down the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, even after short-term rates were boosted 25 basis points on Wednesday.

More hikes are likely as the Board is confident its bid to quell inflation won't deepen a nascent banking crisis.

The Toms River-based lender was supposedly having liquidity issues, according to unconfirmed reports.

Residential starts rose 9.8% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate, the fastest in five months, according to government data released Thursday

Product availability fell to its lowest level since January 2013 as lenders pulled back on offerings across the board, but especially in conforming loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Inflation is the top factor in Chairman Jerome Powell's point of view and that will likely determine if there is no increase or a 25 basis point hike, mortgage industry economists said.

Having lived through past downturns allows experienced leaders to keep employee engagement high as the mortgage business faces its first rough cycle in over a decade.

More than half of pandemic gains have been erased, but how the mix of stronger than expected overall employment and other developments will affect rates remains uncertain.

The 30-year fixed pushed up another 8 basis points this week as the markets are speculating about what the Federal Reserve will do next.

The Federal Reserve chairman took an unexpectedly aggressive posture following last month's step down in the pace of hikes in testimony before Congress on Tuesday,