Morning Roundup (7/23/21) — Rates Continue to Slide, Inventory Increases

Good Morning! Today is Friday, July 23. A major Internet outage on Thursday briefly took out many corporate websites including McDonald’s and FedEx. A bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal is inching closer to completion. The White House is reportedly debating whether to urge vaccinated individuals to wear masks amid the Delta variant spike. Multiple California cities are refusing to enforce L.A. County’s new mask mandate. A major “heat dome” is expected to bake the United States next week. 

And in mortgage and housing news…

Weekly Mortgage Trend Continues Downward: Mortgage rates tracked by Freddie Mac are continuing a roughly month-long downward trend.

Market Slowdown? Mortgage applications, credit availability, building permits are all down in recent weeks.

Home Sales, Inventory Both Increase: Existing home sales edged up 1.4 percent last month, according to the National Association of Realtors, with inventory also increasing.

Feds Help With Rent Money: The federal government has reportedly distributed upwards of $1.5 billion in rental assistance over the past month.

Looming Eviction Crisis? As the federal eviction moratorium nears its end, analysts fear that a wave of evictions may precipitate a major crisis

Older Americans Enjoy Record Housing Wealth: Senior housing wealth topped a record $9.2 trillion through a period of sustained growth last year.

Hush-Hush Housing: So-called “off-market” deals are helping buyers scoop up properties without the stress of bidding wars. 

Enough With the Mash Notes: Industry leaders and public officials are looking to end the homebuyer practice of sending “love letters” to sellers in the hopes of influencing a sale.