The Lede

Bloomberg, Feb. 22, 2019--Christopher MaloneyThe mortgage sector has outperformed U.S. Treasuries by 39 basis points year-to-date, helped in part by a confluence of low volatility and a dovish Federal Reserve.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 22, 2019--Paul Kiernan (subscription)The Federal Reserve said in a report to Congress Friday the U.S. financial system remains "substantially" safer than before the 2007-09 recession but noted a significant expansion in business debt and weaker lending standards.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 22, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)The federal banking agencies denied several appraisal organizations' request for a public hearing on a proposal to reduce the number of residential real estate transactions that require an appraisal.

HousingWire, Feb. 22, 2019--Alcynna LloydMillennials surpassed Generation X as the group that was responsible for the most new mortgages. Since then, Millennials' share of the mortgage market has continued to rise. By the end of 2018, Millennials represented 45% of all new mortgages, compared to 36% for Generation X and 17% for Baby Boomers.

UExpress, Feb. 22, 2019--Lew SichelmanBig changes are coming in the standard application for home financing. But if lenders are not on the ball, the modifications could throw a monkey wrench into the mortgage sector. At least for a while.

The M Report, Feb. 25, 2019The decline in mortgage rates in recent months hasn't affected the mortgage prepayment rate, which was the lowest in more than 18 years, reported Black Knight.

Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, Feb. 22, 2019--Kenneth Harney When you type in a home's street address to obtain an online valuation from the two biggest players in the field--Zillow's Zestimate or Redfin's Estimate tools--how good is what you get?