Good Morning! Today is Friday, December 17. France is banning travel to and from Britain due to high levels of Omicron infection. A federal judge overturned Purdue Pharma’s opioid settlement, ruling that members of the Sackler family could not receive protection from civil lawsuits. Haiti announced that the last of the 17 kidnapped US missionaries have been freed.
And in mortgage and housing news…
Buying Houses With Friends: As the number of homes purchased by people with different last names increases, it is being reported that Millennials are choosing to buy single-family houses with their friends.
Rates Up Slightly: Mortgage rates rose slightly over the last week, up from an average of 3.10% to 3.12%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
Forbearances Rise: Another mid-month slowdown in exits brought on a 1% increase in active forbearance plan totals, according to Black Knight.
Record Of The Century: U.S. home values rose 1.2% from October and are now 19.3% higher than they were a year ago, the highest YOY increase of the century, according to Zillow’s November Market Report.
Flipping Profits Down: Home-flipping profits fell for the fourth consecutive quarter to a 32.3% return on investment, their lowest level since 2009.
Short Squeeze For UWM?: Wall Street Memes says UWM stock talk has been hot on Reddit and could be on the verge of a short squeeze.
RISMedia Releases Broker Confidence Index: Residential brokers surveyed in November said they are extremely confident about the state of their businesses and the industry, according to a new monthly index from RISMedia.
Construction Starts Rebound: New home construction rose 11.8% in November, with strong demand boosting builder confidence heading into winter.
Bargain Hunting Season: Ellington Management Group released a new report showing big opportunities for bargain hunting in securities like mortgage bonds and collateralized loan obligations.
FHFA Proposal: FHFA proposed a new rule under which the GSEs would submit annual reports for capital planning purposes. It has a 60 day comment period.
Roostify Beyond: Mortgage tech provider Roostify has launched Roostify Beyond, an AI document management and process automation offering.
The Mortgage Note Is Looking For Santa’s Biggest Lil’ Helpers — Right In Your Office! Across the country this December, mortgage professionals will be stepping up to help people in need, support community charities, and generally help make the season a little brighter. The Mortgage Note wants to celebrate those efforts by highlighting them in an upcoming edition of our newsletter — and by doing our part to spread holiday cheer… We’ll pick one highlighted charity and make our own $1,000 donation to it.