Good Monday AM,

Equities are getting clobbered this a.m. with the Dow down 800.  The S&P and Nasdaq are on sale as well. For the most part equities are down 3% across the board. Bonds of course getting a boost as they should. The 10-yr is at .66 and mortgage bonds up 15bps. That’s a good day for bonds. Concerns over the resurgence of Covid during the fall and uncertainty over the election are likely creating the indigestion on Wall Street. As I may have mentioned, with the volume that most lenders are seeing currently, there is not much impetus for rate sheets to improve even when they should. That said it is always a good idea to lock on an up day.

The biggest news of the weekend was of course the passing of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Regardless of political views, she was an outstanding trail blazing jurist. President Trump, to the dismay of many Democrats, is planning to nominate a replacement to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat this week.

How about this stat: 1.3 million — the number of single-family existing homes for sale at the end of July, the lowest count for any July in data going back to 1982, according to the National Association of Realtors. Many potential sellers are keeping their homes off the market for pandemic-related reasons while buyers are accelerating purchase plans, creating an extreme drought of previously owned homes for sale.

Please remain safe and healthy. Make today great!