Morning Roundup (9/8/2022) – Bad Behavior, Fall Outlook

Good Morning! Today is Thursday, September 8. President Biden hosted Barack and Michelle Obama to unveil their official portraits. A shooting spree in Memphis left four people dead and paralyzed the city for hours. Regular exercise was linked to a lower risk of getting Covid.

The Mortgage Note Reports

Sham Job Interviews, “Rampant” Fraud: Alleged bad behavior and fraudulent activity in the mortgage industry have made news headlines and despite attempts to get lending leaders to shape up their ships, at least one person who reports on these issues says problems are common, even “rampant.” Writer Chuck Green explains.

UWM Expands Stipends: A year after offering NIL stipends to MSU men’s basketball and football players, UWM’s Mat Ishbia is expanding the program to include women’s basketball and volleyball.

Fall Outlook: Home price drops are up more than 95% YOY as the market cools. “Sellers are cutting listing prices or dropping out of the market completely, suggesting we may see the market shift in buyers’ favor as we head into the fall,” HouseCanary’s Jeremy Sicklick said.

What are your customers asking for as they look forward to a buyer’s market? We want to know. Email Editor Kimberley Haas at [email protected].

In other mortgage and housing news…

Limit Showdown: Rocket increased its conventional loan limit to $715,000 ahead of the FHFA’s November upgrade, then UWM immediately did the same.

Foreclosures Back Up: Foreclosure starts reached pre-pandemic levels nationwide in August, with Illinois, Delaware, and South Carolina having the highest rates.

Look At The Bright Side: Rates are rising but there is a bright side: prices and bidding wars are finally easing, and buyers have more options to choose from.

Mark Your Calendar: The FDIC and HUD will host a webinar about homeownership opportunities in rural, underserved, and low– and moderate-income communities.

“Up All Night”: In a Zillow survey, two in five recent renters said they lost sleep during their search, with many fretting about cost, communication, and competition…

Some Good News: … but the future is looking better as average apartment asking rents fell for the first time last month, dropping to $1,718.

Fire Danger: Property owners in the Colorado Springs, CO, and Santa Fe, NM, metro areas run particularly high risks of property damage from wildfires.

Refi No: Here’s why some homeowners skipped the refinance boom and don’t regret it.