Mortgage Roundup (1/21/21) – Biden, CRE & NYC

Good morning! Today is Thursday, January 21. The newly inaugurated 46th president of the United States Joe Biden urged Americans to overcome their divisions. United Airlines posted nearly $2 billion in quarterly losses, as Covid-19 continues to stall air travel. The NFL named the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. 

And in mortgage and housing news …

MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications decreased slightly last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

BUILDER CONFIDENCE: Builder confidence slid in January as the nation faced climbing Covid-19 caseloads and homebuilders confronted surging lumber prices, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index showed.

CRE OUTLOOK: The 2021 outlook for the retail and hospitality industry bodes well for commercial real estate investors. 

BIDEN ERA: Incoming President Joe Biden is looking to give a boost to homebuyers and builders.  

E-COMMERCE BANKS: Why e-commerce companies are turning themselves into banks.

SPAC IPO: SoFi is going public through a SPAC merger. Should you buy it?  

CFPB REGULATONS: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule clarifying that supervisory guidance is not backed by the same force as law or regulation.

NYC RICH RETURN: Manhattan’s luxury real-estate market is sighing with relief as a surge in leases and rental prices suggests that the wealthy New Yorkers who left town at the onset of the pandemic are beginning to return.

3D HOME TOURS: Realtor.com adds more 3D virtual home tours. A survey of home shoppers found them to be the most helpful technology feature when deciding on a new home.

ZILLOW SHIFT: Zillow’s shift to IDX is live. Changes include buyer’s agents being advertised as ‘personal guides’ and the site defaulting to agent listings over others.