Morning Roundup (7/8/2022) – Rates Tank, Cooldown Coming

Good Morning! Today is Friday, July 8. Japan’s former prime minister died hours after he was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election. Biden will sign an executive order today to help safeguard women’s access to abortion and contraception.

The Mortgage Note Reports

Rates Free-Fall: Mortgage rates tanked last week, dropping from an average of 5.70% to 5.30% as concerns about a potential recession continue to rise.

Better.com Hires: Multiple new executives have joined Better.com to bolster its leadership team and forge long-term growth.

Cooldown Coming: Rising mortgage rates may not have brought the housing market to a halt just yet, but experts are predicting a cooldown that will come in waves and hit different areas of the country at different times. Writer Tyrone Townsend reports on this topic.

And in other mortgage and housing news…

CA Cooling: Housing markets in northern California like San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco are cooling faster than other housing markets in the U.S.

“Crazy Market”: Analysts, economists, and brokers weigh in on the state of the wild housing market and what might come next.

Big Bank Earnings: Analysts will be watching to see how banks’ mortgage businesses are faring during their Q2 earnings this month, which they will begin reporting soon.

Better Hires: Better.com announced several new hires of senior executives, including a new chief growth officer and a new head of sales.

Improving Conditions: Redfin reports that as soaring costs have pushed some buyers out, the market is finally finding balance again.

Price Growth: Anecdotal signs of a U.S. housing slowdown have yet to impact home prices, which are still rising in nearly all of the 100 largest housing markets.

Moving For Love: Zillow named the best metros to move to for love in 2022, looking at cities with available, affordable rental housing and a high share of singles.

Opinions: Does building luxury condos create more affordable housing?