Good morning! Today is Thursday, October 22. White House officials and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the door to passing a coronavirus relief package after the election. The final debate between President Trump and Joe Biden is tonight. Turkey farmers are worried they’ve bred too many large birds for the likely smaller holiday gatherings during the pandemic. And in mortgage and housing news … GSE EXTENSION: FHFA extends Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s ability to buy loans in forbearance. MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications hold steady for another week. NEW HOMES ON THE RANGE: Weary city dwellers escape to Montana, creating a property gold rush. USDA LOAN: A USDA loan is a mortgage for homes in rural or suburban counties, and you don’t need any money for a down…
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, October 21. White House and Democratic negotiators said they would press ahead with efforts to reach a coronavirus relief deal. The Department of Justice antitrust suit against Google will mark the most aggressive U.S. legal challenge to a company’s dominance in the tech sector in more than two decades. Minnesota’s snowfall this week is the earliest on record and the second-largest amount of snow with 9 inches recorded in one town. And in mortgage and housing news … BIDDING WARS: Bidding wars are still common in the U.S. housing market. CFPB EXTENDS QM: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has indefinitely extended a provision that allows loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to count as qualified mortgages as it…
Good morning! Today is Tuesday, October 20. The Presidential debate commission will mute President Trump and Joe Biden’s microphones during parts of Thursday’s debate. British scientists will launch the world’s first human challenge trials for Covid-19, in which healthy volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus to test the vaccine’s efficacy. NASA is launching a 4G phone network on the moon. And in mortgage and housing news … NEW GSE PRODUCT RULE: The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a new rule that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide advance notice to FHFA of new activities and obtain prior approval before launching new products. HOME PRICES: Home prices in September increased by the largest amount since Redfin began tracking them. HOME VALUE: Homeowners…
Good morning! Today is Monday, October 19. Covid-19 cases are climbing in almost every state. A woman who vanished in Zion National Park nearly two weeks ago is found alive. Several wildfires continue to burn hundreds of thousands of acres across Colorado. And in mortgage and housing news … MISSED PAYMENTS: More than 6 million households in the United States missed rent or mortgage paymentsand 26 million missed student loan payments in September as the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic stretched into their seventh month. CREDIT SCORES: The average credit score hit a record in July after millions of Americans had lost their jobs, scrambling lenders’ underwriting models. IFFY BORROWERS: There’s good news for mortgage applicants who don’t fit into the precise mold demanded by…
Good morning! Today is Friday, October 16. President Trump and Joe Biden participated in dueling town halls on separate networks. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has recovered from Covid-19 and says he was wrong not to wear a face mask at a White House event where he contracted the virus. A new study finds that watching nature programming reduces feelings of boredom and sadness. And in mortgage and housing news … RECORD LOW, AGAIN: Mortgage rates dropped to 2.81 percent this week, another new record and the 12th straight week rates have stayed under 3 percent, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey. FREDDIE FORECAST: Mortgage rates are expected to remain near record lows through next year and home prices…
Good morning! Today is Thursday, October 15. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett closed out her confirmation hearing testimony. About 70 percent of registered voters surveyed said they would take a Covid-19 vaccine, but many of those would prefer to wait to see what side effects there are. A man in a jet pack flying over LAX was spotted by a China Airlines crew – the second sighting of its kind in a month. And in mortgage and housing news … GINNIE MAE: Ginnie Mae issued a record $748 billion in mortgage-backed securities during the recently completed fiscal year, nearly 50 percent higher than the previous record. REFINANCE MARKET: While mortgage applications overall were relatively flat, significantly more American homeowners continue to work to…
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, October 14. Covid-19 cases are surging in the Midwest and West as the U.S. enters what is expected to be a rough fall/winter wave of the pandemic. The University of Florida stopped their football program after a coronavirus outbreak. NASA debuted a new toilet designed for women. And in mortgage and housing news … LUXURY HOUSING: Redfin reports that luxury home sales in the United states increased 41.5 percent in the third quarter over a year ago – the largest jump since at least 2013. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY: In August, home prices jumped five times more than income gains, according to National Association of Realtors data. HOME PRICES: Home prices are held down by COVID-19 in big cities while climbing sharply in less crowded…
Good morning! Today is Tuesday, October 13. Johnson & Johnson is pausing its Covid-19 vaccine trial after a participant became sick. After sleeping through the “big call,” a Nobel Prize winner got the news from his neighbor knocking on his door. Sen. John McCain’s mother, Roberta, dies at age 108. And in mortgage and housing news … CREDIT TIGHTENS: The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage credit availability decreased again in September, reaching the lowest level since February 2014 and down roughly 50 percent this year. FORBEARANCE DECREASE: There was a pretty big drop in the percentage of US mortgages in forbearancethis week, with 3.2 million homeowners still in plans to pause their loans, according to the weekly report released by the Mortgage Bankers…
Good morning! Today is Monday, October 12. Senate confirmation hearings begin this morning for Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Tech workers leaving the San Francisco Bay Area to work remotely amid the pandemic are being asked to take pay cuts of 15 percent or more, as tech companies make cost-of-living adjustments. Lakers fans gathered at Staples Center to celebrate the team’s first NBA championship win in a decade. And in mortgage and housing news … PRESIDENTIAL POSITIONS: Where Biden and Trump stand on mortgage finance issues. FED’S MAIN STREET LENDING: Only about $2 billion worth of Federal Reserve program loans have been issued so far through the $600 billion program, many of them by City National Bank of Florida. MORTGAGE PAID OFF: Paying off your…
Good morning! Today is Friday, October 9. President Trump rejected a proposed Oct. 15 virtual debate with Joe Biden after testing positive for Covid-19 last week. Louisiana is bracing for the sixth hurricane to hit the state in 2020. SpaceX’s Tesla roadster is approaching Mars, after traveling nearly 1.3 billion miles since launching nearly three years ago. And in mortgage and housing news … MORTGAGE RATES: Mortgage rates remain at record lows. CASA LEAVES AIME: Three months after igniting a scandal by sending lewd and misogynistic messages about a rival, Anthony Casa is officially stepping down from his role at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts. CREDIT SCORE: Mortgage lenders use a unique version of your FICO score to evaluate creditworthiness. Here’s what you need to know. I-BUYER…
