Mortgage Roundup (10/23/20) – Rates, Sales & Biden

Good morning! Today is Friday, October 23. President Trump and Joe Biden take their last laps on the campaign trail after a calmer final debate. The U.S. topped 73,000 new coronavirus cases for first time since July. Game 3 of the 2020 World Series resumes tonight inside the “playoff bubble” in Arlington, Texas.

And in mortgage and housing news …

MORTGAGE RATES: Mortgage rates have hit yet another record low. 

HOME SALES: Existing-home sales grew for the fourth consecutive month in September.

BIDEN EFFECT: How the housing market might change under a Biden Administration. 

RENTAL MARKET: Nearly four million renters may be evicted from their homes. 

JUMBO MORTGAGES: The average cost of a 30-year jumbo mortgage hovered near a record low this week at 3.50 percent in Bankrate’s survey.  

HOME CONSTRUCTION: U.S. home construction rose by 1.9 percent last month after having faltered as much as 6.7 per cent in August.  

FED REPORT: A new Federal Reserve report bodes well for the mortgage lenders and the housing sector. 

UNDERWRITING STANDARDS: Mortgage lenders have changed their underwriting standards in response to trends and economic uncertainty sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

CREDIT INEQUALITY: Blacks must make extraordinary efforts to overcome the discrimination that is often hidden in financial policies or products that are supposed to be bias-free.

OFFICE BUILDINGS: Office buildings in walkable locations are faring better than purely urban or suburban offices.

LENDER COMPETITION: How to make lenders compete for your mortgage.