Good morning! Today is Wednesday, August 19. Democrats formally made Joe Biden their presidential nominee last night. President Trump expressed support for Oracle to buy Tik Tok. Death Valley recorded one of the earth’s hottest temperatures – 130 degrees.
And in mortgage and housing news …
SAVE OUR SUBURBS: President Trump again vowed to “save our suburbs” from the “crime and chaos in Democrat run cities,” this time in a joint op-ed with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson published in the Wall Street Journal.
HUD FORECLOSURE BAN: The Department of Housing and Urban Development will extend a ban on evictions and foreclosures for homes backed by the Federal Housing Administration through the end of the year, protecting 8.1 million people.
MORE MORTGAGE SURPRISES: The new fee from Fannie and Freddie on some mortgage loans is unlikely to be the last change.
HOUSING STARTS: The Census Bureau released its monthly report on new residential construction for July 2020, posting a 22.6 percent increase in housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.496 million units.
HOUSING CONUNDRUM: The housing market has been a bright spot on the economy, but there remain serious questions about what the next phase for the market will be as the coronavirus pandemic has created an enormous amount of uncertainty about where and how people will live.
RENTAL EQUITY CREDITS: A unique residential model in Avondale, Cincinnati allows renters to accrue equity credits through their apartment leases.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: In what could be a first for the area, Brookline is changing up its affordable housing lottery system to boost diversity in the town.
APARTMENT BOOM AND BUST: Construction of apartments is at a five year low nationally. It’s a trend that mirrors the 2008 recession.
BLOCKCHAIN GROWTH: Ripple Net, which links major banks and financial institutions, has passed the 300-point media growth mark. The CEO revealed that ODL (On Demand Liquidity) volume had grown 11 times in one year.
BANK MORTGAGE REVENUES: The new refinancing fee from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may hurt bank’s mortgage revenues.