Good morning! Today is Tuesday, December 29. The holiday surge in coronavirus cases will likely result in extended stay-at-home orders for Southern California and other areas, as intensive care beds remain in dangerously short supply. Coronavirus vaccine passports are being developed for travel in 2021. A machine learning algorithm has counted more than 100,000 craters on the moon.
And in mortgage and housing news …
APPRAISAL INPUT: The Federal Housing Finance Agency requested input on potential changes to “appraisal-related policies, practices and processes.”
NY EVICTIONS: The New York state legislature voted to stop evictions until May 1. What you need to know.
HOUSING COST: The average American spends $1,674 a month on housing, but is that too much?
URBAN EXODUS: Homeowners aren’t fleeing cities in droves despite Covid-19.
COSTCO MORTGAGE?: You might not know that the members-only wholesale chain offers something even bigger online: Costco mortgages.
ENVIRO FEATURES: Which buyers find heating and cooling costs, and environmental features most important.
NYC COLLAPSE: The pandemic devastated the housing industry this year, but there were a few flickers of life.
CRE CHECKLIST: These trends and principles help investors prepare for commercial real estate opportunities in the new year.
PPP REOPEN: Second small-business loans will be limited to borrowers with 300 or fewer employees who can show revenue was hurt by the pandemic.
YEAR IN REVIEW: The most interesting real estate stories of 2020.