DENVER and D.C. — May 7, 2021 — Tom Piercy, Managing Director, Incenter Mortgage Advisors, and President, National Enterprise Business Development, Incenter LLC, was a featured speaker during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA)  Spring Conference & Expo 2021: Independent Mortgage Banks, Secondary Markets, Servicing and Technology, held virtually from April 20-22, 2021.

Mr. Piercy added his insights to the April 22 discussion of Valuations and Liquidity in the MSR Market, part of the Secondary and Capital Markets Track.

“The MSR market is receiving a great deal of attention,” said Mr. Piercy. “Bulk and co-issue sales of MSR assets are now heating up, with a number of banks seeking to de-lever their portfolios and take cash off the table, and buyers paying premium prices in anticipation of higher long-term yields. Some institutions are de-levering completely, while others are only selling a portion and retaining more than usual, as they see long-term value in these assets.”

He noted that MSR assets do come with some risks of short-term repayment, as evidenced by the downward movement in Treasuries since March month-end. Still, substantial capital commitments continue to be put in place to drive demand on the bid side.

Bulk pricing continues to outperform co-issue pricing by a half to a full multiple, supporting an MSR retention strategy for some, or all, new originations too. For example, there was bulk pricing as of March 31, 2021 for a 2.80 WAC 30-year fixed rate mortgage at a 5½x service fee in the models.  That same product in co-issue grids would net in the 4s.

Mr. Piercy has dedicated his professional career to the secondary markets with a specialty in providing mark to market valuations and trading MSRs and whole loans. For additional insights, contact him at tpiercy@incenterms.com.

About Incenter Mortgage Advisors

Incenter Mortgage Advisors (IMA) provides trading and advisory services for all types of Mortgage Servicing Rights (MSR) and Whole Loans, including analytics, risk management tools and transaction services. Based in Denver, Colorado, the IMA team of experienced analysts and trading professionals issue MSR offerings, manage the bidding, negotiate the pricing and support the transfer of MSR and eMSR assets. Visit incentermortgageadvisors.com.