Good Morning! Today is Thursday, June 16. The Justice Department charged the Buffalo shooting suspect with hate crimes. A lawyer advising Donald Trump claimed to know about a “heated fight” among Supreme Court justices over whether to hear 2020 election arguments.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Will Biden’s Plan Work?: Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan is designed to ease the challenges of housing costs over time by increasing inventory, but will it work?
Builder Confidence Falls: Builder confidence dropped two points in June to its lowest level since June 2020, the sixth consecutive month of declines and a “troubling sign for the housing market.”
And in other mortgage and housing news…
75 Point Hike: The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 75 basis points to a range of 1.5%-1.75%, the biggest increase since 1994.
Housing Starts: Residential starts fell 14.4% in May to their lowest in more than a year, though April construction was revised higher to its strongest level since 2006.
New Home Apps: Applications for new home purchases fell 5% YOY in May and 4% from April, while MBA’s estimate of new home sales rose for the first time in five months.
Experts Weigh In: The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate hit 6.2%, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, and experts warn the housing bubble bursting could spell doom for the economy.
MBA Nomination: Laura Escobar, President of Lennar Mortgage, has been nominated to serve as MBA’s Vice-Chair for the 2023 membership year.
FHFA Report: The FHFA released in 2021 Report to Congress, which asks legislators to determine the structure of Fannie and Freddie and the secondary mortgage market after conservatorship ends.
NAHB Conference: Homebuilders convened at the Capitol for the NAHB 2022 Legislative Conference, asking lawmakers to support policies that will boost housing production.
Fannie’s Forecast: Fannie Mae’s ESR group downgraded their 2022 GDP forecast to 1.2% growth and dropped their home sales prediction as well.