Hospitality News & Insights

• Esoteric Forex Drama Blasts Bonds, Maybe July 31, 2026
  Esoteric Forex Drama Blasts Bonds, Maybe Friday was very much NOT on the beaten path of typical bond market considerations with most of the selling arguably stemming from Japanese currency intervention. We've seen similar episodes in the past, but  today's installment came with a twist. In addition to Japan confirming it was selling foreign bonds […]
• Mortgage Rates Back Near Long-Term Highs July 31, 2026
  To be fair, mortgage rates haven't been far from their long-term highs in over a week, but today's 30yr fixed index level of 6.83% is functionally equivalent to the actual long-term high of 6.85% seen on July 23rd.   Higher rates are driven by weakness in the bond market. The latter can happen for many reasons. […]
• Regional Divide Persists as Home Price Growth Edges Higher in May July 31, 2026
  Home price appreciation remained modest in May, according to data from both FHFA and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices . Although both reports showed annual price growth improving slightly from April, appreciation continued to trail inflation, underscoring a housing market where elevated mortgage rates, affordability pressures, and uneven regional performance continue to limit […]
• Mortgage Applications Fall 6.4% as Rates Continue Upward March July 31, 2026
  Mortgage application activity pulled back last week as higher borrowing costs weighed on both home purchase and refinance demand. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 6.4% decrease in total application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 24. Purchase applications decreased 4% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted […]
• Verification, CRA Tracking, State-Level Tax and MGIC Webinars, Non-Agency Product Developments July 31, 2026
  I am no numerologist, but Freddie Mac’s announcement yesterday, that 30-year mortgage rates are averaging 6.66, caught my attention. Unlike rumors, like the one going around about a Texas IMB buying California IMB, hard, provable numbers are hard to argue with… Like the hundreds of thousands of people every month turning 62. Setting up a […]
• Japan Currency Intervention, Oil, and Data Causing Some Selling July 31, 2026
  Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) and central bank (BOJ) are a bit more closely linked than Treasury and the Fed. For example, the MOF can instruct the BOJ to sell a bunch of securities to pop up the value of domestic currency. They did this in relatively grand fashion yesterday, but the selling didn't appear […]
• Bullets Dodged July 30, 2026
  Bullets Dodged We've seen our fair share of bonds punishing the market on occasions where bond traders were forced to worry about a significant change in a fiscal or monetary regime (or the absence of a desired change). Wednesday's reaction to the Fed ran the risk of setting the stage for similar momentum. While it […]