Good Morning! Today is Monday, October 3. A new Supreme Court term begins today. The oil producers of the OPEC+ convene on Wednesday to set output targets for November and they are considering a reduction of 1 million barrels a day. Ukrainian forces regained the key city of Lyman, which Putin had declared part of Russia.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Top Stories: Our numbers are in and the top performing articles for September included a rapper sentenced to prison for a multi-million dollar fraud scheme, bad behavior in lending, and robotic furniture making waves in the quest to solve the housing crisis.
Black Knight: Home prices fell for a second consecutive month in August, with prices seeing the sharpest contractions in more than 13 years.
Rocket Changes: Rocket’s CFO and General Counsel are both retiring, with Brian Brown and Tina V. John stepping into their respective roles.
What do you think will happen in the housing market in 2023? Share your opinion by emailing us at [email protected].
In other mortgage and housing news…
Construction Spending: U.S. construction spending fell 0.7%, more than predictions of 0.3%, and the largest drop since February 2021.
Hopping The Pond: American homebuyers are searching for bargains in the U.K., as a weaker pound contributes to double-digit price cuts.
Bad Outlook: Legendary “Big Short” investor Michael Burry thinks the market will go from bad to even worse and says the bottom is at “2007 levels.”
“Can’t Wait To Get Out”: Nearly three-fourths of Americans who purchased homes in the last two years have regrets, saying they overpaid or compromised on their priorities.
More Closures: New Jersey lender AnnieMac is closing its wholesale operation while St. Petersburg-based BayFirst Financial is closing its Clearwater, FL, mortgage division.
Better Hits 100B: Better became the first fintech to fund more than $100 billion in loans, even as it conducts its fourth round of layoffs in 9 months.
Cutting Rates: Equifund Mortgage lowered its 30-year rates by 1% to counter the Fed’s recent increases as part of its goal to make mortgage borrowing “as free as possible.”
Killer Rates? Think Again: “Now people don’t remember how Baby Boomers were getting rates of 10%, 12% and higher for most of the 1980s,” one real estate pro says, discussing a 19% rate she locked at that time.