Good Morning! Today is Monday, April 25. Emmanuel Macron, the incumbent president of France, won re-election over Marine Le Pen. A man died after setting himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court to protest climate change. Wildfires in Arizona, Nebraska, and New Mexico have killed at least one person and destroyed hundreds of structures.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Rocket Mortgage Works to End Digital Divide In Detroit: Editor Kimberley Haas reports that leaders at the company have been working with local officials who say there is still much work to be done.
Real House Prices: FirstAm’s Real House Price Index jumped up by nearly 31% in February, the fastest growth in the more than 30-year history of the series.
Rate Hike Impact: Nathaniel Drake of Fannie’s Economic and Strategic Research Group says that the full effects of rising interest rates have “yet to be felt.”
And in other mortgage and housing news…
”Diehard New Yorkers”: Homebuyers are flocking to Manhattan despite rising mortgage rates, as sales reached a record $7.3 billion in the first months of the year.
Homebuyer Competition: Homebuyer competition fell for the first time since September as rising rates and home prices pushed some buyers to the sidelines.
Change On The Horizon: Here’s how rising rates are impacting sellers.
Opinion: Residents and neighborhood associations with the power to delay, reshape, and even halt vital infrastructure construction are doing more harm than good.
Wells Fargo Layoffs: Wells Fargo confirmed that it will be laying off an unknown number of employees as mortgage rates climb, impacting multiple cities.
Global Housing: Chris Stokel-Walker looks at Japan, Singapore, and Germany for clues to alleviating the affordable housing crisis.
Canada’s Crisis: A standard home in Canada now costs twice as much as in the US.