Good morning! Today is Thursday, December 31. Happy final day of 2020! A new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus was detected in Colorado and Southern California. Alaska Airlines becomes first major US airline to ban emotional support animals. New York officials will allow fans to attend the Buffalo Bills playoff game.
And in mortgage and housing news …
HOME SALES: Pending home sales declined for the month in November but remained significantly higher than a year earlier, according to a new report released by the National Association of Realtors.
SMALL-DOLLAR MORTGAGES: The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for borrowers to find lenders willing to make small-dollar mortgages of $100,000 or less.
MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING: How the real estate market has been changed in 2020 by multigenerational living.
TEXAS LUXURY: Despite Covid-19, luxury home sales in Texas topped $10 billion in 2020.
CRYSTAL BALL: Ten outrageous 2021 predictions for the mortgage industry.
SELLER COVERUPS: Make sure a seller is not just putting “lipstick on a pig.” A home inspector shares the most common cover-ups to be wary of while house hunting.
CRE INSIGHTS: Commercial real estate trends, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hotel markets.
2020 FORBEARANCES: Here’s what mortgage forbearance looked like in 2020.
COVID IMPACT: How Covid-19 changed the housing conversations in America’s cities.
OPEN DOOR: Following the official merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II, the well-funded iBuyer begins publicly trading as OPEN on the Nasdaq exchange.
MBA DEI: The Mortgage Bankers Association hired Charmaine Brown as its director of diversity and inclusion, a newly created position for the organization. Brown will be responsible for developing, promoting, and advancing diversity and inclusion programs for the real estate finance industry.