Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, January 12. In an effort to keep kids in schools, the Biden administration will ship five million free rapid Covid-19 tests to K-12 schools each month. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Paul Pierce are being sued for allegedly leading investors into a cryptocurrency “pump and dump” scam. Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman on a quarter.
And in mortgage and housing news…
Credit Availability Up: Mortgage credit availability rose in December, according to MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index.
Zillow CDO: Zillow has hired Jenny Arden as the company’s first Chief Design Officer.
Delinquencies Down: Mortgage delinquency fell to 3.8% in October 2021, down 2.3% YOY, according to CoreLogic’s latest Loan Performance Insights report.
Grow Or Shrink?: Economists and housing experts are evenly split on whether home sales will rise or fall in 2022, according to Zillow’s Home Price Expectations Survey.
Hikes Coming: Jerome Powell called high inflation a “severe threat” to a full recovery and said the Fed was preparing to raise interest rates because the economy no longer needed emergency support.
Debt On The Rise: American households hold $15.24 trillion in debt nationwide, up 6.2% YOY, Nerdwallet’s annual Household Credit Card Debt Study found.
“Blistering Pace Of Inflation”: Economists expect inflation to have closed out 2021 near its highest level since 1982 as consumer demand and pandemic-related supply shortages sent it soaring.
Realogy Calls Out NAR: In an unsealed court filing, Realogy called for NAR to end its MLS mandate requiring listing brokers to offer compensation so they can post a seller’s property on a REALTOR-affiliated MLS.
Azimuth Investment: Azimuth GRC, a compliance automation provider, announced it has received a strategic investment from Truist Ventures.
NAR ESG+R: NAR has released its first Environmental, Social, Governance, and Resilience (ESG+R) Report, a comprehensive look at NAR’s accomplishments and noteworthy sustainability activities in 2021.
StoicLane In Brentwood: StoicLane has acquired Brentwood Property Appraisal, an appraisal management company focused on the high-end residential market in California, New York, New Jersey, DC, and Florida.