Morning Roundup (12/20/2022) – The Future of Cities

Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, December 20. The Jan. 6 committee recommended that the Justice Department investigate Trump allies, including Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani. Twitter users said in a survey that Elon Musk should step down as head of the company. Pope Francis will return three pieces of the Parthenon to Greece.

The Mortgage Note Reports

The Future Of Cities: The future of live-work-play communities looks bright heading into 2023 as investors figure out ways to make money in real estate with a recession looming. Editor Kimberley Haas has the story.

Starts, Permits Fall Again: New home construction slid in November, with residential starts down 0.5% from October and 16.4% YOY.

Another Lender Buydown: Guild Mortgage is rolling out a new rate buydown program, covering 1% of a borrower’s interest rate for one year.

TMN Presents: The Mortgage Meltdown Meter, a collection of articles from the market correction, updated daily. Click here to stay on top of the changing landscape.

How are you helping your community this holiday season? We want to know. Share your story by emailing us: [email protected]

In other mortgage and housing news…

Ishbia Q&A: UWM CEO Mat Ishbia spoke to The AP about how volatile rates and declining demand are affecting the mortgage lender and his outlook for housing in 2023.

Buyers Will Come Back: All it would take to bring stability to the housing market is a slight decline in rates to draw buyers back in, Conor Sen argues in Bloomberg.

“Locals Only”: Exclusionary zoning is a prime example of local government gone wrong, and officials will have to carefully reform it to create more affordable housing.

Zoomer Renting Woes: Congress’ youngest Representative-elect is struggling to find an apartment due to credit card debt. It’s a problem many Gen Zers relate to.

Wells Fargo Deal: Wells Fargo said it has reached a settlement with the CFPB resolving multiple matters, the majority of which have been outstanding for several years.

Michigan Layoffs: Amerifirst Home Mortgage will close its Portage branch in early 2023, resulting in 59 employees losing their jobs.

Hottest Home Features: Backyards are 2022’s hottest housing feature, Zillow says, along with spacious kitchen islands, private spaces, and mirrored walls.