Good morning! Today is Friday, May 29. National Guard troops are being sent to Minneapolis after protesters set fire to a police station. NFL coaches are expected to return to their team’s facilities next week. The Boston Marathon will be held virtually for the first time in its 124-year history.
And in mortgage and housing news …
REBOUND: Realtor.com’s Weekly Housing Trends Report finds that the latest housing data points to a rebound for the housing market as buyers and sellers begin to return to the market after the economic shutdowns in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
RECORD LOW: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a record low of 3.15 percent this week, Freddie Mac announced. It is the third time rates have reached record lows for the third time in the last few months.
HOME SALES PLUMMET: Stay-at-home orders, curtailed real estate activities and an economic shutdownsent pending home sales into the dumps in April, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
ORIGINATORS HIRING: Quicken and United Shore are hiring thousands for teams in mortgage banking, operations, customer service, technology and more to serve growing demand spurred by low-interest rates.
BANK STAFFING: Top U.S. banks are shifting their staffing to deal with mortgage defaults.
DELINQUENCIES RISE: A look at why delinquencies are rising, when it’s easy to get forbearance.
FORBEARANCE BORROWERS: Interest rates are at a record low, but some COVID-impacted borrowers won’t be able to take advantage of today’s historically low interest rates because they haven’t made all of their mortgage payments on time.
FEDERAL RESERVE: Federal Reserve officials head into their next policy meeting deliberating how to assist an economy in a deeper hole than it faced after the 2008 financial crisis at a time when their tools might have less power.
MORTGAGE MARKET: For Americans hoping to buy a home or refinance the one they’re in at ever-lower rates, the mortgage TBA (to-be-announced) market is where one must look. That’s where lenders can sell the mortgages they create.
FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS: First-time homebuyers are seeing advantages of purchasing real estate during a pandemic.
LIBOR TRANSITION: Freddie Mac announced the launch of a new website providing key resources for lenders and investors as the company transitions from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to alternative reference rates.