Good Morning! Today is Thursday, March 31. The US is planning to lift an order that has restricted immigration for the past two years. Officials say Vladimir Putin’s subordinates have misled him about the Russian military’s struggles to avoid angering him. Google’s sister company Waymo is sending fully autonomous vehicles onto the streets of San Francisco.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Will The Housing Market Boom Or Bust? As the spring selling season begins, people in the mortgage and real estate industries are speculating on whether 2022 will be a year of growth or the start of the end for a red-hot market. Editor Kimberley Haas takes a deep dive into this topic.
Flip Profits: Home flipping profits fell across the country in 2021 despite a surge in quick-turnaround sales by investors.
Auspicious Beginning: Mortgage loan application volume fell by 6.8% last week as refis continue dropping, but purchase applications held steady ahead of the spring homebuying season.
And in other mortgage and housing news…
GDP Downgrade: The GDP increased at an annual rate of 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021, below economists’ expectations of 7.1%.
Out Of Reach: The gender pay gap has pushed 18% of the US housing market out of reach for women, and can be as wide as 22% depending on the industry they work in.
“Strange Things”: In normal times, rising mortgage rates are supposed to help cool housing prices, but it’s possible this time around will be different.
Factory-Built Homes: A bipartisan proposal in Colorado’s state legislature would offer $40 million in grants for “innovative” housing manufacturers.
Floridians In Crisis: When asked about the Florida homeowners’ insurance crisis, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the issue may not be addressed until November.
“Yet To Be Disrupted”: The real estate industry is a massively inefficient industry desperately in need of innovation and disruption, Samuel Smith argues.
Union Home Appointment: Union Home Mortgage announced the appointment of David Barnes to Regional Manager in the North Carolina and South Carolina markets.
ICE Futures: ICE Data plans to launch its first mortgage futures contracts on June 13, 2022, subject to regulatory approval.
Inflation’s Impact: This video spotlights how inflation is affecting U.S. homeowners.