Good morning! Today is Thursday, December 17. In an anti-trust lawsuit, Google is accused of enlisting Facebook to manipulate digital ad markets. The U.S. is preparing to charge a new suspect in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. A nor’easter is blasting the Northeast with heavy snow.
And in mortgage and housing news …
MULTIFAMILY INVESTMENT: The Freddie Mac Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index rose by 1.9 percent in the third quarter, meaning there were more attractive investment opportunities in the multifamily market.
MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications for new home purchases in November jumped by 34.7 percent over a year ago, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
INTEREST RATES: The Fed left interest rates alone at its final meeting of 2020 but pledged to keep doing whatever it takes to help the economy rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.
DURABLE GSE REFORM: The American Bankers Association and several housing industry groups urged the Department of Treasury yesterday to ensure that reforms for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are locked in before conservatorship ends for the government sponsored enterprises.
UWM LAWSUIT: Three brokers go to war with United Wholesale Mortgage, accusing the company of violating their contracts.
GSE BOUNCE BACK: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks spike up after Fox Business’s Charles Gasparino tweets about a Treasury plan to create “a framework for eventual recap and release from conservatorship.”
FLIP IN COURT: A savvy Philadelphia property mogul has pulled off some eye-popping property flips. Some now want to see him in court.
TAX STRATEGIES: Four tax strategies to get the best value from real estate over the long term.
INVESTORS: There’s ‘a lot of opportunity’ in real estate investing as the pandemic pinches the distressed property market.
VACCINE BOOST: The 2021 mortgage forecast improved with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.