Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 6. A gunman killed more than 30 people, including children, at a child-care center in Thailand. An American tourist smashed two ancient Roman sculptures into pieces at the Vatican. Oil-exporting countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to cut their supply sharply to raise global energy prices.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Inflation Buster: Bill Banfield, Chief Risk Officer at Rocket Mortgage, sat down for an interview with Editor Kimberley Haas to talk about their new program which gives homebuyers a reprieve by reducing their monthly mortgage payment by one percentage point for the first year of their loan.
“Unattainable”: Housing affordability is a bigger deal to Americans than the possibility of a recession, with 1 in 4 saying they’re putting off buying a home indefinitely.
Down Payments Cooling: Buyers are paying record-high down payments thanks to soaring prices and high competition, but they’re starting to see some moderation.
What questions would you like us to ask the experts? Share your thoughts by emailing us at [email protected].
In other mortgage and housing news…
First-Timers Struggle: Affordability for first-time home buyers fell 19 points YOY in June 2022 as rapid house price appreciation outpaced consumer house-buying power.
“Brokers Are Better”: AIME says it has developed a website dedicated to educating consumers about the loan process, providing direct access to the resources brokers offer with a variety of consumer-friendly features.
Best Time To Buy: Buyers who close in October will get the best deal compared to the spring buying season, paying only a 3.3% premium compared to May’s 10.5%.
“Feeling The Squeeze”: RISMedia’s Broker Confidence Index saw its second-largest monthly drop since it began last year.
Hesitant Affluent: The luxury market is beginning to return to normal but can’t yet be called a buyer’s market, as the wealthy shy away from listing their homes.
ATP: FormFree made its Residual Income Knowledge Index, a method for measuring consumers’ ability to pay for mortgages based on income and spending, broadly available.
Homie Resignation: The CEO of Utah-based flat fee real estate brokerage Homie resigned a week after laying off 40 employees, citing market instability.