Good Morning! Today is Friday, May 13. The baby formula shortage is wreaking havoc on parents who don’t know if their child is getting enough to eat. Senator Rand Paul delayed a bipartisan effort to send $40 billion in aid to Ukraine. Cryptocurrency prices collapsed this week.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Eco-Friendly Homes: Guild Mortgage has partnered with The Home Depot to help buyers bundle the cost of new energy-efficient appliances into their home loan. Editor Kimberley Haas reports.
Rates Up: Mortgage rates averaged 5.30% last week, and Freddie’s Sam Khater said they expect monetary policy and inflation to discourage many consumers moving forward.
Gordon Confirmed: In a narrow victory decided by a tie-breaking vote, Julia Gordon has been confirmed as Assistant Secretary of HUD and Commissioner of the FHA.
And in other mortgage and housing news…
More on Gordon: VP Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to confirm Julia Gordon as FHA commissioner after a 50-50 tie in the Senate.
Powell Confirmed: Fed chairman Jerome Powell was confirmed for a second four-year term as head of the central bank in an 80-19 vote.
Vacation Home Boom Ends: Second home locks were up 9.1% from pre-pandemic levels in April, unchanged from March and down from 15% in February, a drastic change from last year’s demand.
Worse To Come: Only 56.9% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of January and end of March were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $90,000, and NAHB says affordability will worsen.
Non-Performing Sale: Fannie Mae announced its latest sale of non-performing loans as part of its ongoing effort to reduce the size of its retained mortgage portfolio.
“Challenging Environment”: Home Point Financial saw its profit fall 92% over the last year as the mortgage market changes, according to its most recent earnings report.
Realogy Rebrand: Residential real estate services provider Realogy, which has six firms under its umbrella, has rebranded as Anywhere Real Estate.
Affordability Impact: “Anybody that’s middle class and below, we’re screwed.” Many Americans are already feeling the impact of worsening affordability.
Spotlight: A San Francisco man has tweeted community housing debates for years, making it easier for others to notice the city’s housing crisis.