Good morning! Today is Tuesday, June 30. Reopenings are stalling as Sun Belt states witness surge in coronavirus hospitalizations. Broadway’s shutdown is extended until January 2021 due to increases in coronavirus spread. A Fourth of July lunar eclipse will be visible in most of the U.S.
And in mortgage and housing news …
BLACK HOMEOWNERSHIP: Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Salt Lake City have the lowest Black homeownership rates of any major metropolitan areas in the United States, according to an analysis released by Redin.
CFPB RULING: The Supreme Court ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional – but left in place the rest of the legislation creating the consumer protection agency.
GOOD NEWS RENTERS: The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that Fannie Me and Freddie Mac are allowing mortgage servicers to extend forbearance agreements for multifamily property owners during the coronavirus pandemic.
REBOUND: The Pending Home Sales Index increased by 44.3 percent in May, the highest month-over-month gain since the National Association of Realtors started the index in 2001.
SELF-EMPLOYED BORROWERS: For gig workers and business owners, new hurdles emerge for mortgages.
HIGH LTV MORTGAGES SHRINK: The choice of mortgages for borrowers looking to buy a home with just a 5 percent or 10 percent deposit is getting smaller by the day as more lenders pull high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages from the market on the back of the coronavirus crisis.
WHITHER MORTGAGE RATES: Why mortgage rates aren’t under 3% (yet). Challenges in the retail mortgage market have kept rates higher than expected.
BANK STRESS TEST: Nearly all of the largest U.S. banks said they performed well enough on the Federal Reserve’s most-recent stress test to maintain their current quarterly dividend. Wells Fargo says the assessment will mean a reduced quarterly payout.
LENDER SURVEY: A Fannie Mae survey shows mortgage servicers want clarity on post-forbearance options for borrowers.
CALIFORNIA HOUSING CRISIS: The legacy of New Deal-era redlining — which deemed Black neighborhoods undesirable for federally-backed mortgages — is demonstrably visible not only where Black Californians live now but where gentrification and displacement pressures across the state are most acute.