Dive summary:

• The loan industry has entered never-before-seen territory in which mortgages for amounts too big to get government guarantees, the loans known as "conforming,"  are getting a lower rate than smaller loans that are eligible for federal protection.
• The difference is not big – the Mortgage Bankers Association says it's 4.71% versus 4.73% – but no one has ever seen this before.
• Credit for the inversion is going to overall interest rate volatility, concerns about government policies and banks' having a lot of cash that they can use to make big loans to credit-worthy home buyers.

From the article:

"In my 30-year career, I've never seen nonconforming loans priced below conforming loans," said Brad Blackwell, executive vice president of Home Mortgage, the nation's largest mortgage company. ...