Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, July 26. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as they are expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point today. A federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s asylum policy. The Education Department opened a civil rights investigation into legacy admissions at Harvard. UPS reached a tentative deal with unionized workers, possibly averting a strike next week.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Application Activity Restrained: Mortgage applications decreased by 1.18% last week, wiping out a bump the week prior, as rates hovered near 7%.
Clever Pro: Clever Real Estate announced a suite of integrated products for lenders to protect their purchase pipeline, increase conversations, and close more loans.
TMN Presents: The Mortgage Meltdown Meter, a collection of articles from the market correction, updated daily. Click here to stay on top of the changing landscape.
In other mortgage and housing news…
Waiting For Profitability: Mortgage lenders are still struggling with housing market headwinds, and profits aren’t looking good in this earning period.
Adapting To High Costs: As costs soared in 2022, builders focused on smaller, taller homes that were more often started “offsite,” and built more condos and townhouses.
Equity Spending: Originations of open-ended HELOCs and closed-end home equity loans increased 50% in 2022 compared to two years earlier as home renovation boomed.
Consumer Confidence: U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased.
“Money We Don’t Have”: Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and acquiring credit card debt at alarming rates.
LoanCare Win: A jury sided with LoanCare in a contract dispute with Freedom Mortgage, awarding it $22.6 million, though Freedom won on a smaller dispute.