Morning Roundup (2/24/25) – Existing Sales Decline
| Good Morning! Today is Monday, February 24. Pope Francis remains in critical condition at a Rome hospital. At least three people died after a boat capsized near Staten Island in NYC. U.S. agencies instructed their employees not to comply with Elon Musk’s demand for emailed explanations of what they accomplished last week. The Mortgage Note Reports Verification Tech: Fintech Xactus introduced a new class of verification technology that integrates with existing POS and LOS systems. Existing Sales: Existing home sales declined on the month but saw an annual spike in January as housing affordability remains a major challenge for buyers. |
| Quote Of The Day “If there’s one word to describe the new home market today, it would be ‘fine.’ Traffic is low, and buyers lack any sense of urgency, but reasonable conversion rates show that serious buyers are still out and about.” Ali Wolf, Zonda chief economist |
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In other mortgage and housing news… Disaster Relief: Gavin Newsom has proposed a mortgage relief package totaling more than $125M benefitting victims of recent natural disasters, including the LA wildfires. All In The Family: Multigenerational households are growing in number as both younger and aging Americans decide to stick with the family unit. Layoff Fallout: HUD cuts are likely to upend housing markets, decrease affordability, and roil mortgage transactions, according to employees, contractors, and experts. Big Squeeze: Over the past week, as much as a quarter of Ginnie Mae’s employees have either resigned or been dismissed as DOGE targets the agency. Comment Period: MISMO announced that it is seeking public comment on an updated MISMO Version 3.6 Reference Model package. “I Feel Trapped”: Scores of homeowners are struggling under higher mortgage rates and exploding insurance premiums, on top of repairs for an aging housing supply. |