Morning Roundup (3/11/2022)– Rates Rise To 3.85%

Good Morning! Today is Friday, March 11. President Biden will call for suspending normal trade relations with Russia, which would raise tariffs for many Russian products. Baseball players and owners struck a deal on a new contract, ending a lockout. The federal government extended the mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation through mid-April.


The Mortgage Note Reports


Rate Reversal: Mortgage rates rose to 3.85%, reversing a brief period of declines brought on by uncertainty surrounding Ukraine.


Forbearances Down: Forbearance plans dropped to a post-pandemic low this week, falling by 49,800 (-6.5%), according to Black Knight.

And in other mortgage and housing news…


Inflation Wreaks Havoc: The consumer price index for February rose 7.9% YOY, the highest level since January 1982, driven by food and energy prices.


One Home, Two Teslas: Austin home prices have risen by $116,000 in the last year to $369,000, roughly the price of two Teslas.


Wealth Gains: Homeowners with mortgages have seen their equity increase by a total of over $3.2 trillion since Q4 2020, an increase of 29.3% YOY, CoreLogic reported.


Home Improvement: Nearly three-fourths of homeowners have invested in a home improvement project since the beginning of the pandemic, a new survey found.


Referral Perks: HomeSmart Holdings announced it will provide equity to agents participating in its Agent Referral Program.


FirstAm CIO: First American has appointed Paul Hurst as chief innovation officer.


loanDepot: loanDepot announced a new operating unit, mello, which will develop new, mortgage-adjacent digital-first products and services.


Fraud Alert: A New Jersey man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for conspiring to obtain mortgage loans to finance the sale of properties to unqualified buyers.