Morning Roundup (5/15/2024) — Purchases Tumble

Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, May 15. Attackers ambushed a prison convoy near Paris, killing two guards. Orcas sank another boat near the Strait of Gibraltar. A group of TikTok creators sued the U.S. over its plan to either ban the app or force its sale.

The Mortgage Note Reports

Purchases Tumble: Mortgage applications rose slightly last week, buoyed by a refi turnaround as purchase demand faltered.

Reaching Out: Guaranteed Rate will host a free homeownership education day at Chicago’s Ramova Theatre, the first of its new “RateUniversity” offerings.

In other mortgage and housing news…

Investors Are Back: Real estate investors bought 19% of homes that sold in the first quarter, the highest share in almost two years and the first increase since Q2 2022.

Nationwide View: Zillow says seven of the top 10 markets for buyers are in Florida or Texas, while the Northeast and Bay Area are best for sellers.

Company News: All Western Mortgage adopted Polly’s PPE; Sammamish Mortgage and Calque partnered to provide The Trade-In Mortgage; Diane N. Lye was appointed to Fannie Mae’s Board of Directors.

ICE Upgrades: ICE announced investments in its mortgage secondary market offerings and enhancements to the Encompass digital lending platform’s PPE.

CPI: Inflation eased slightly in April, up 0.3% compared to estimates of 0.4% and 3.4% on a 12-month basis, a change that excited Wall Street.

All Eyes On Rent: Multi-family rents are cooling but single-family rent growth remains elevated in most markets, an issue that distresses the Fed.