Morning Roundup (8/30/21) – Ida Threatens Lousiana Homes, Housing Affordability Projected To Worsen

Good Morning! Today is Monday, Aug. 30. Hurricane Ida made landfall in Lousiana yesterday, leaving more than a million people without power. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues, despite multiple reports of American citizens being left behind. The EU seeks to block non-essential travel from the U.S. Millennial professionals are using their savings to take a break from working and explore new career paths.

And in mortgage and housing news…

Buying Power: Home buyers in June 2021 had 129% more house-buying power than in 2006, according to the June 2021 First American Real House Price Index.


Experts Say: Reuters poll of experts predicts that housing affordability is set to remain stretched or worsen in the next 2-3 years.


Ida Makes Landfall: Hurricane Ida is expected to put 941,392 homes in the Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi coastal areas at risk for storm surge damage, according to data analysis released by CoreLogic®.


“Credit Deserts”: The process for securing loans on tribal land is time-consuming and difficult, hindering homeownership for Native Americans, the Wall Street Journal reports.


Bigger Is Better: A Pew Research Center poll found that more Americans now prefer communities with more space and large houses even if schools, shops, and restaurants are farther away.


Too Little, Too Late: Mom and pop landlords say the end of the eviction moratorium arrived too late to ease their financial burdens. One California landlord said, “Is the government going to now pay me $70,000 that they stole from me? I doubt it.”


Bitcoin Bad Bet?: Housing bubble billionaire John Paulson said cryptocurrencies are “worthless” but he’s not going to short them. “There’s unlimited downside,” he said. “It’s too volatile to short.”


Illegal Camping On The Rise: Illegal camping in national forests has increased during the pandemic as more people are out of work and without homes.


NFT Firm Gets Funding: Collateral-based lending company LandOrc, which converts land titles into Non Fungible Tokens, pulled $19 billion in funding.