Good Morning! Today is Friday, January 28. Economic output in the U.S. grew 5.7% over the past year, the biggest annual increase in decades. Biden told Ukraine’s president that the U.S. was ready to respond forcefully to any Russian aggression. A federal judge revoked Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases, ruling the Biden administration failed to consider climate change when it sold them.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Predicting The Future: Higher interest rates will be a big issue for homebuyers in 2022. Will they drive down mortgage business?
Rates Settle: After weeks of steadily rising, interests rates stayed steady last week, averaging 3.55%.
Black Knight: Forbearance exits rose for the second week in a row, up by 19,000 plans (2.3%), the result of “predictable lulls driven by new plan starts and restart activity.”
And in other mortgage and housing news…
The Price Of Happiness: One out of four prospective homebuyers say they are willing to go as much as $100,000 over budget if it means living in their dream home.
Hot January: Homebuyers are grappling with the hottest January on record, as 45% of homes now find a buyer within two weeks on the market, according to a new Redfin report.
December Rental Data: Sales of the most affordable homes in the U.S. rose 11.3% YOY in Q4 2021, while sales of luxury homes dropped 16.3%, Redfin reported.
“Eye-popping”: U.S. housing gained a record $6.9 trillion in 2021, nearly doubling what was previously the largest annual gain of $3.7 trillion in 2005, Zillow found.
Pending Home Sales Down: Pending home sales fell in December, denoting two straight months of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors.
“In For A Hefty Payday”: Meridian Capital Group is in line to become the exclusive financing broker for All Year Holdings’ bankrupt $1 billion real estate portfolio in Brooklyn.
Million Dollar Broker: Celebrity broker Ryan Serhant signed 30 new agents this month, including poached talent. What are they looking for?