Good morning! Today is Friday, August 21. Joe Biden officially accepted his nomination for president. American Airlines is dropping service to 15 cities. Two tropical depressions now in the Atlantic Ocean could both be making U.S. landfall at about the same time.
And in mortgage and housing news …
BANKERS ASSAIL FEE: Bankers associations from every state sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria, urging him to rescind the “adverse market fee” on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage refinances.
STILL UNDER 3: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.99 percent this week, up just slightly from last week, Freddie Mac announced in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
MEDIAN SALE PRICE: According to a new report from Redfin, the median sale price for luxury homes in the U.S. rose 1.2 percent year over year to $825,000 during the three months ending July 31, 2020.
JUMBO LOANS: Following the Covid-19 outbreak, loan rates vary more widely between jumbo lenders.
NYC LUXURY MARKET: New York City’s high-end market was dealt an unprecedented blow by the coronavirus lockdown. Can it ever fully recover?
GSE DEFENDING FEE: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs addressed the industry on refinance fee grievances, saying the fee will not cause mortgage payments to go up.
COVID-19 LOOPHOLE: Banks and other lenders uncover a loophole to buy home loans at below market prices, making potentially billions of dollars.
HOTEL DEFAULT: In a desperate plea for help, the hotel industry said it faces a default disaster, in which 25 percent of hotels are at risk of foreclosure.
MORTGAGE RATE FORECAST: With coronavirus sending the U.S. into a recession and causing record-high unemployment, the Fed set benchmark interest rates near zero to bolster the economy — leading to a mortgage rates drop. What will the future bode?
BUSY MOVERS: According to FlatRate Moving, the number of New York City moves it has done has increased more than 46 percent between March 15 and August 15, compared with the same period last year.