Good morning! Today is Thursday, June 4. The White House selected five companies as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the coronavirus. Delta Airlines will cap seating at 50 percent in first class and 60 percent in other cabins. Weekly jobless claims numbers to be announced this morning are expected to be below two million.
And in mortgage and housing news …
STILL RISING: Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 5 percent for the week ending May 29 – the seventh straight week purchase applications have increased, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report.
REFINANCING: If home values drop, consumers could pay more to refinance their mortgages.
MORTGAGE AND RENT RELIEF: A guide to COVID-19 mortgage and rent relief in every state.
WALL STREET RELIEF: U.S. bank regulators are poised to resume easing Wall Street rules after spending the past few months carrying out emergency actions to help the economy weather the coronavirus pandemic, according to a newly designated federal watchdog.
GOVERNMENT BACKSTOP: COVID-19 has “completely upended” progress toward reducing government’s hold on mortgage finance, according to Barclay’s Dennis Lee.
MORTGAGE REINSURANCE: Analysts believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will drive “significant” losses for US mortgage reinsurance business, even as the eventual impact still remains unclear.
ONLINE SEARCHES: Real estate sites are reporting a jump in online home searches. Will that translate to sales?
REAL ESTATE DEALS: Manhattan real estate deals plunge 84 percent in May amid the coronavirus and protests.
POST-COVID PREDICTIONS: Residents fleeing expensive cities, retailers closing for good and companies ditching offices for remote work could be real estate’s worst case scenario.
ADDRESSING RACISM: CEOs at Compass, Keller Williams, Redfin and Zillow, among others, detailed steps their companies are taking to address racism in the real estate industry and inside their offices.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: The Federal Housing Finance Agency today issued a final rule for the housing goals of the nation’s network of Federal Home Loan Banks aimed at boosting mortgage lending to low-income neighborhoods.