Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 10. Three companies will start pivotal coronavirus vaccine testing in July. Nineteen states are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. The rise of home workouts has led to a kettlebell shortage throughout the nation.
And in mortgage and housing news …
FHFA FIX: FHFA Director Mark Calabria told Congress he will submit legislative recommendations next week to strengthen the agency’s regulatory and supervisory authority “to fix structural flaws in our housing finance system.”
CFPB COMPLAINTS: For the second straight month, Shellpoint Partners racked up the highest number of mortgage-related consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to publicly available data on the federal agency’s website.
MORTGAGE CREDIT: Mortgage credit keeps getting tighter, but the decrease in credit availability leveled off in May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.
I-BUYER RESUMES: Zillow announced it is resuming its iBuyer program in six additional markets after shutting it down in all markets at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
LOAN FORGIVENESS EFFECTIVENESS: The government’s giant corporate loan forgiveness effort initially ran dry, prompting outrage. The new problem: Not enough businesses are taking advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program.
MORTGAGE REITS: These two mortgage REITs are falling after a spectacular rally.
RACIAL BIAS: Racial bias in mortgage lending is very real, but there are steps you can take to secure a fair loan.
DOWNPAYMENT MISCONCEPTION: How much of a down payment do you really need when buying a house?
PANDEMIC EFFECTS: Safety concerns have forced developers to rethink mixed-use projects combining retail, residences and offices, which have helped define the live-work-play ethos that many younger professionals seek.
THE FED’S SUMMER CAMP: The Federal Reserve Banks offering kid-friendly financial education programsthrough the summer.
FED’S POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMY: Federal Reserve officials could take preliminary steps today to explain how they will provide more support to the economy now that interest rates are pinned near zero.
UNDERWRITING REQUIREMENTS: The GSEs recently issued enhanced documentation requirements and considerations for verifying and predicting the income of a self-employed applicant for a mortgage loan.
LUXURY REAL ESTATE: After New York officially shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of luxury residential real estate listings in the city plummeted. It is a slump that is expected to stretch into the fall.