Good Morning! Today is Thursday, September 14. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said he won’t seek re-election. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other tech leaders met with members of Congress to discuss regulating AI. Hurricane Lee is expected to hit Bermuda before moving on to New England and Canada.
The Mortgage Note Reports
5 Minute Approval: Guaranteed Rate is hoping to blow the Same Day Mortgage out of the water with its latest speed-centric mortgage product, the 5 Minute Approval.
Student Loan Burden: As the student loan forbearance program comes to an end, Americans are terrified that resuming payments will force them into greater debt.
Housing Upgrades: HUD has awarded funding from a program established by the Inflation Reduction Act to owners of assisted multifamily housing properties and the money is going to climate-related investments like solar panels. Editor Kimberley Haas has the story.
In other mortgage and housing news…
FHFA Hits Pause: The FHFA is delaying its bi-merge credit transition after the decision sparked heavy debate among credit reporting agencies, interest groups, and Congress.
Surprising Twist: Mortgage origination volume returned to pre-pandemic levels in Q2 2023 while default risk declined slightly, with the interesting exception of Freddie loans.
Consumer Prices: The consumer price index rose 0.6% in August, its biggest monthly gain of 2023 and more than expected, up 3.7% from a year ago…
Purchases Up: …while the producer price index increased 0.7% in August, the biggest monthly gain since June 2022, and the value of total retail purchases rose 0.6%.
Weird And Wonderful Homes: The popular social media page Zillow Gone Wild is getting its own 9-episode HGTV show.