Morning Roundup (6/11/2024) — “Portal Wars”

Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, June 11. Hamas accepted a U.N. resolution backing a plan to end the war in Gaza and said it is ready to negotiate details. Italy will host the G7 this week. Hunter Biden’s defense lawyers rested their case at his federal gun trial after he chose not to testify.

The Mortgage Note Reports

Flyhomes Enters “Portal Wars”: Flyhomes acquired AI startup ZeroDown and launched a new “conversational” home search portal to rival Zillow and Redfin.

Leadership Update: Incenter Lender Servicers promoted housing finance veteran Shelley Duffy to EVP of National Sales.

In other mortgage and housing news…

Dads In Homes: Single dads are more likely to be homeowners than single moms, though they are less common than mom-lead households.

Tracking CRE: A New York City office building owned by a Related Cos. affiliate is set to be sold at a steep 67% discount.

Time For Change: A former White House economic advisor says the Fed’s “higher for longer” stance is based on a “misjudgment” and it’s time to cut rates.

Rate Risk: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that mortgage rates may jump to more than 10% if Trump wins a second term.

Company News: Investment lender BARH Dunmore added two new execs; Ocwen Financial rebranded to The Onity Group.

Real Estate’s New Darling: Property owners have long seen restaurants as risky tenants, but now restaurants are emerging as the hottest corner of retail real estate.

Monaco’s Solution: The world’s richest nation is solving its housing crisis with glitzy but environmentally-minded beachfront projects.