The U.S. is facing new norms as efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus are deployed. Congress is asking why the U.S. is not testing for the coronavirus as quickly as other countries. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged lawmakers not to pass coronavirus-related economic relief bills that were “poorly tailored to the situation.”
And in mortgage news on this Friday the 13th …
Rates for 30-year U.S. mortgages rose from a record low as overwhelmed lenders lifted borrowing costs to curb an onslaught of business.
Fannie Mae increased its mortgage origination forecast by $300 billion for 2020 — almost all of that due to refinancings from the decline in rates.
Money mag lists five factors to consider when deciding to refinance.
Bank of America cut its ratings and price targets on several homebuilders and building products companies as the firm braces for the coronavirus impact on the U.S. housing market.
Realtor.com, one of Zillow’s chief competitors, is rolling out its own home value estimate tool.
A new survey of realtors from the National Association of Realtors found that nearly 25 percent of home sellersin the U.S. are making changes to how they are selling their houses.
Realtor.com is creating a scoring system to rate noise from traffic, airports and other sources.