Morning Roundup (7/26/2024) — New Podcast

Good Morning! Today is Friday, July 26. The Olympics kick off today in Paris. Fires on French train lines are disrupting service and are considered arson intended to impact the events. Barack Obama endorsed Kamala Harris.

The Mortgage Note Reports

New Podcast: The $418 million settlement that has rocked the real estate industry since the National Association of Realtors announced it continues to be a hot topic, and as the dust begins to settle, industry professionals are creating a strategy for what to do once the changes go into effect. Listen to Nicole Murray’s podcast here.

Rates Barely Budge: Mortgage rates ticked up just slightly last week, rising one bps to 6.78%, essentially flat after a major slide the week prior.

Major Acquisition: Mr. Cooper announced the acquisition of Flagstar Bank’s TPO platform and servicing rights for $1.4 billion in cash.

In other mortgage and housing news…

“Mixed Bag”: Profit margins for U.S. home sellers stayed relatively flat in the second quarter despite a recent uptick in home prices, but they remain historically high.

Falling Further: Mortgage application payments and monthly housing payments both declined, with the latter hitting a four-month low.

Company News: Infrrd, a leading Intelligent Document Processing solutions provider, has launched an AI-powered mortgage data validation product, MortgageCheck.

Delayed Timelines: Nearly two-thirds of Millennials and Zoomers who plan to purchase a home in the next five years want to jump in now. What’s holding them back?

Wait And See: Redfin’s CEO says the housing market is in a “funk” as Americans deal with election uncertainty.

Life Of Luxury: The typical luxury home sold for a record $1,180,000 in Q2, up 8.8% from a year earlier, the biggest increase in nearly two years.