Good Morning! Today is Monday, February 28. Russia’s currency plummeted against the dollar due to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies. More than 350 civilians have died since the invasion began. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a dispute over the E.P.A.’s power to limit greenhouse gases.
The Mortgage Note Reports
UWM Teams Up Again With Scandal-Plagued Casa: Despite his misogynistic attacks on the wife of a competitor, it appears Anthony Casa is once again in Mat Ishbia’s fold with his new UMortgage business.
Pending Home Sales: Pending home sales continued a three-month streak of declines in January, with contract signings down 5.7% to 109.5 in January and 9.5% YOY.
NAREB Exec Named: C. Renee Wilson has been named executive director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.
And in other mortgage and housing news…
Final Rule: FHFA published a final rule that amends the ERCF by refining the prescribed leverage buffer amount and risk-based capital treatment of retained credit risk transfer exposures for Fannie and Freddie.
States, Ranked: A report Polygon Research and Homeownership Council of America shows the states with the largest and smallest homeownership gaps by race and ethnicity.
Gaining Steam: Fannie Mae delayed a scheduled residential mortgage bond on Thursday due to market volatility spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fugitive Broker: A Houston mortgage broker is on the run after being charged in a scheme involving mortgage fraud, credit repair, and government loan fraud.
Rewarding Renters: Tech startup Piñata, which will report renters’ payments to the major credit bureaus for free, raised $13 million in Series A funding.
Housing Bill: Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) unveiled a housing and homelessness bill that could increase federal funding, in one case by over 6,500%.
The Life Aquatic: Grounded cruise ships could become affordable housing for Miami residents, tackling the affordability crisis and an oversupply of ships.
Invasion Impact: How could the Ukraine invasion impact the US housing market?