Good Morning! Today is Friday, January 27. Five fired Memphis police officers were charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man. China is arresting people who joined protests against the government’s zero-Covid policy. Former Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Jessie Lemonier died at age 25.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Rates Cool A Bit: The 30-year fixed rate slipped slightly again last week to 6.13%, prompting some pent-up buyers to lock in a purchase.
Pending Sales Break Spiral: Pending home sales rose for the first time since May, with two of the four major regions seeing month-over-month gains.
Protecting Tenants And The Homeless: The Biden-Harris administration announced new actions to protect renters this week and leaders at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development celebrated helping over 100,000 families through their homelessness initiative. Editor Kimberley Haas has the story.
Listen To Our Podcast: This podcast highlights the successes and innovations taking place in the mortgage industry.
TMN Presents: The Mortgage Meltdown Meter, a collection of articles from the market correction, updated daily. Click here to stay on top of the changing landscape.
In other mortgage and housing news…
Flagstar Cuts: Two months after receiving approval to merge with New York Community Bank, Flagstar is cutting its retail division, resulting in hundreds of layoffs.
PCE: Personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, rose 4.4% from a year ago, its smallest annual increase since October 2021.
Tepid Ending To 2022: New home sales rose for a third month in December, up 2.3%, but not enough to improve an overall disappointing 2022 for home sales.
Payments Dip: Homebuyer affordability improved in December, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants falling to $1,920 from $1,977.
New Scapegoat: Blaming the housing crisis on hedge funds and private equity may be easy, but it’s dead wrong, Jerusalem Demsas argues in the Atlantic.
Ginnie Mae Update: Ginnie Mae is shortening the re-pooling seasoning requirements for re-performing loans from six months to three months.