Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, May 17. The gunman who killed 10 people in Buffalo was able to buy an assault-style weapon despite having been held for a mental health evaluation last year. Ukraine began evacuating its fighters from Mariupol, a sign that Russia had won control of the city. The Biden administration lifted some sanctions on Cuba, including expanding flights.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Commercial Real Estate: Writer Chuck Green reports that commercial and industrial spaces are doing well. Even retail is making a comeback.
Fraud Alert: Ten of the 15 metros with the highest fraud risk saw an increase compared to last quarter, while a majority of U.S. firms said that the pandemic increased application fraud across channels, not just for online and mobile systems.
Forbearance Volume Falls: The number of loans in forbearance fell 11% in April from 1.05% of servicers’ portfolio volume to 0.94% despite inflation and other challenges.
And in other mortgage and housing news…
Easing The Burden Of Costs: President Biden has released a Housing Supply Action Plan to ease the burden of housing costs over time.
Retail Sales: Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in April from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
CashPass By Guild: Guild Mortgage has introduced CashPass, a new program to help homebuyers compete with all-cash offers in today’s competitive housing market.
Racial Gap: Homeownership rates for both Black and white families rose slightly over the last 10 years, but still only 45% of Black families own their homes, compared to 74% of white families.
CFPB Analysis: The CFPB published a report analyzing mortgage servicers’ responses to Covid that says some servicers are “less well-equipped to assist borrowers who have exited pandemic housing protections.”
Wildfire Risk: Realtor.com adding wildfire risk data to its listings, with one rating showing individual property risk and another showing the risk by county.
Building Costs: A NAHB analysis of the PPI found that building materials prices have risen 4.9% since the start of 2022, 19.2% YOY, and 35.6% since the start of the pandemic.
REX Suit Gets Serious: REX Homes has shut down in the midst of its legal battle with NAR and Zillow but has retained David Boies – the lawyer for Al Gore, Harvey Weinstein and multiple accusers against Jeffrey Epstein – to continue the suit.
Multifamily Increases: Multifamily price appreciation (+21.6% per unit YOY) outpaced rent growth (+14% YOY, a record) in 2021, according to a new Yardi Matrix report.