Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, Aug. 25. President Biden doubled down on the Aug 31 Afghan deadline while the Taliban blocked airport access. House Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint and voted to strengthen federal oversight of state election laws, a move that will likely provoke a filibuster in the Senate. A new Suffolk University poll finds Biden’s approval rating down to 41 percent.
And in mortgage and housing news…
Mortgage Applications Up: Mortgage applications increased 1.6% this week, along with an influx of refinance applications, according to the MBA’s weekly report.
Rent Aid Funding Dragging: Just $1.7 billion in funds intended to prevent eviction were disbursed in July. The New York Times reports: “The money meted out was a modest increase from the prior month, bringing the total aid disbursed thus far to about $5.1 billion, figures released early Wednesday showed, or roughly 11 percent of the cash allocated by Congress to avoid an eviction crisis that many housing experts now see as increasingly likely.”
Bias: An investigation by The Markup has found that lenders in 2019 were more likely to deny home loans to people of color than to white people with similar financial characteristics.
“Mortgages Are For Losers:” With first-time buyers being boxed out, Conor Sen says the government should step in to take the edge from cash-rich investors.
You Rent It, You Buy It: Co-CEO of tech start-up Landis says his company can help solve the affordability crisis by improving the financial health of clients.
New Residential Deal Closes: New Residential Investment Corp., the parent company of mortgage banking firm NewRez, has finally acquired Caliber Home Loans.
New Home Sales Up: Data released by HUD and the US Census Bureau show sales of new single-family homes went up to an annualized rate of 708,000 in July despite a drop in new housing starts.