The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced the first failure of a bank during the coronavirus pandemic, though the bank was struggling before economic challenges began. The West Virginia Division of Financial Institutions closed The First State Bank in Barboursville, West Virginia on Friday. MVB Bank of Fairmount acquired all of the bank’s deposit accounts. FDIC said The First State Bank had approximately $152.4 million in total assets and $139.5 million in total deposits as of Dec. 31. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, MVB Bank agreed to purchase approximately $147.2 million of The First State Bank’s assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for now. Earlier this year, DepositAccounts.com had given the bank an “F” for its financial…
Industry trend reports are starting to show the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. housing market. Realtor.com’s march Housing Trends Report for March shows that inventory softened, the number of newly listed properties declined, and prices did not increase as fast in the second half of the month – though there was a strong start to the month. That strong start meant the total number of homes for sale declined 15.7 percent from March 2019. The numbers declined to 15.2 percent for the weeks ending March 21 and March 28. In the weeks ending March 21 and March 28, the volume of newly listed properties decreased by 13.1 percent and 34 percent from last year. During the last two weeks of March,…
Real estate brokerage firm Redfin reported this week that people are increasingly searching for homes in rural areas and small towns on its website amid the coronavirus pandemic. For the week ending March 23, page views on Redfin were up 115 percent in rural areas and 88 percent in small towns, compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, page views for metro areas of 1 million people or more dropped by 10 percent from a year ago. “America’s urban cities have boomed over the last few decades for their density of amenities, entertainment, innovation, and jobs,” Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “But this pandemic has forced us to close down those benefits and has shined a bright light on one of the historic…
United Wholesale Mortgage announced that it is conducting a second verification of income and employment step late in the loan process in the face of rising unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, existing customers are getting increasingly frustrated with the company and vocal on social media with the company’s lack of responsiveness as they seek to adjust their mortgages during economic hardship. “With everything going on right now, it’s just really imperative that we’re verifying that income and employment have not changed the day we’re sending them the money,” said Eric Mojica, UWM’s vice president of sales. Mojica said UWM does two verification of employment checks now, one earlier in the process and one just before closing to…
Mortgage rates dropped for the second week in a row – and almost reached the nearly historic lows from before the coronavirus fully hit the United States. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.33 percent in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. “Mortgage rates have drifted down for two weeks in a row and that drop reflects improvements in market liquidity and sentiment,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said. “While the market has stabilized relative to prior weeks, homebuyer demand has declined in response to current economic conditions. The good news is that the pending economic stimulus is on the way and will provide support for both consumers and businesses.” Mortgage rates hit a low of 3.29 percent…
Mortgage payments are due Wednesday across the country, just as millions of Americans are beginning to deal with economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The $2 trillion CARES Act comes with significant benefits for homeowners who are unable to make their mortgage payments – most notably a moratorium on foreclosures and the right to forbearance. Many homeowners believed that the mortgage relief items applied to all borrowers but are quickly discovering they aren’t universally available. Homeowners in need must work with their lenders to identify the best solution for their individual situations. Here is a look at what you should do to seek relief from making mortgage payments in the coming months: Do you need help? Like the health…
Mortgage applications in coronavirus hot spots plunged again last week to levels significantly lower than a year ago amid coronavirus stay-at-home orders and real estate shutdowns. In California, mortgage applications dropped 16.5 percent last week from a week earlier – and 36.4 percent from the same week a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. In New York, applications were down 18.1 percent for the week and 35.6 percent from a year ago. Overall, mortgage applications increased last week by 15.3 percent in the United States from a week earlier, as interest rates ticked down slightly after two straight weeks of rate increases. “The bleaker economic outlook, along with the first wave of realized job losses reported…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be more flexible on several loan processing steps to help ease the homebuying and borrowing process during the coronavirus pandemic. The changes are needed in large part because of social distancing requirements, which prevent people from gathering or interacting in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. President Trump said social distancing mandates will be in place at least through the end of April. “These loan processing flexibilities will expedite loan closings and help keep homebuyers, sellers, and appraisers safe during this national emergency,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said. The Fannie and Freddie adjustments include: Allowing desktop appraisals on new construction loans.Allowing flexibility on…
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy updated what businesses are allowed to operate in the state, with realtors making the cut on a limited basis. “Realtors can operate and show houses to prospective buyers on a 1-on-1basis or to immediate families,” Gov. Murphy said in a tweet. There is still a prohibition on open houses.” New Jersey has the second most confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, after only New York. States have taken a variety of approaches to whether realtors can operate amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pennsylvania has banned all real estate activities, and the state police even issued a warning to a Wexford office whose realtors were on the wrong side of the restriction. California and Washington state also shut down real estate…
The Department of Homeland Security deemed the homebuilders “essential critical infrastructure workers” in a sweeping document designed to provide guidance to states navigating the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter issued over the weekend, the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) classified the following home construction workers as essential: Workers performing housing construction related activities to ensure additional units can be made available to combat the nation’s existing housing supply shortage. Workers supporting the construction of housing, including those supporting government functions related to the building and development process, such as inspections, permitting and plan review services that can be modified to protect the public health, but fundamentally should continue and serve the construction of housing (e.g., allow qualified private…
