Good morning! Today is Thursday, July 23. A new stimulus package with $1,200 checks and unemployment benefits will be debated in Congress today. California coronavirus cases surpass New York’s numbers. Today would have been the opening ceremonies for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, but the coronavirus put the Games on hold until 2021.
And in mortgage and housing news …
HOME SALES: After three straight months of sales declines amid the coronavirus pandemic, existing home sales surged at a record pace in June, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors.
AIME SCRUBS CRITICS: After Anthony Casa announced he was taking a leave of absence from the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, the organization removed his bio from its website while also apparently scrubbing comments on its social media channels.
MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications increased 4.1 percent last week, driven by new refinance requests and a slight increase in new purchase applications, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
HOUSE PRICES: House prices in the United States decreased slightly in May but remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index.
FORCED FORBEARANCE: Wells Fargo customers say the bank paused their mortgage payments without asking.
FAIR HOUSING RULE: The White House plans to scrap fair housing rule as President Trump bids for suburban voters. Administration officials briefed select congressional staff on Wednesday on the new proposal.
GOOGLE MORTGAGE TOOLS: Homebuyers can now turn to Google Search for detailed info about mortgages.
GRADUATING TO HOMEOWNERSHIP: New college graduates should carefully consider whether buying a home makes sense at their current time in life.
JUMBO MORTGAGES: Mounting problems of wealthier homeowners with jumbo mortgages have been largely overlooked in discussions about the health of the housing market and national economy.
CREDIT SCORE: Nothing affects your credit score as much as paying bills on time, that’s why you might not want to zero out every credit card.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: An updated estimate of the number of people who have benefited from the affordable housing credit (LIHTC) over the life of the program: 18.7 million people.