Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, December 15. Congress passed a measure raising the government’s borrowing limit by $2.5 trillion. Mr. Trump lost his bid to shield his tax returns from the House Ways and Means Committee after a federal judge dismissed the case. Britain’s antitrust regulator said Apple and Google hold a “vise-like grip” over how people use mobile devices, limiting innovation and choice and leading to higher prices.
And in mortgage and housing news…
Thompson Tapped For Full Term…: President Biden will nominate Sandra Thompson, currently the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to a full term at the regulator, the White House announced.
…And The Industry Responds: The industry’s response has been largely positive.
Mortgage App Volume Falls: Mortgage loan application volume dropped 4% last week, overwhelming a 2% increase from the week prior, MBA’s weekly survey reported.
October Delinquencies: Delinquencies dropped 2.4% in October, from 6.3% to 3.9% of all U.S. mortgages, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights report.
Q2 Defects: ACES Mortgage OC Trends Report for Q2 2021 found a 13% increase in the overall critical defect rate to 2.27%, ending a multi-quarter trend of improvement.
Bias In Appraisal Forms: The Federal Housing Finance Agency found “examples of overt references to race, ethnicity, and other prohibited bases” in appraisals.
“Supercharging The Housing Market”: Millennials accounted for more than half of all home-purchase loan applications last year, and they’re expected to continue bolstering demand.
“Struggling To Keep Up With Demand”: The West’s housing crunch began over a decade ago. Here’s why.
“Derailing Countless Dreams”: In the midst of the Evergrande fiasco, abandoned projects are shattering hope for China’s housing market.
NY Faces Rent Relief Lawsuit: Several tenant and housing groups in New York filed a lawsuit to force the state to reopen its pandemic rent relief program, arguing that a recent decision to stop accepting applications for the aid has left thousands of struggling renters vulnerable to eviction.
Homes For Our Troops: Homespire Mortgage is donating $50,000 to Homes For Our Troops to help provide adaptive homes to injured veterans.