Good morning! Today is Thursday, August 27. Hurricane Laura is now a category 3 hurricane after making landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border as a category 4. Vice President Mike Pence formally accepted the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nomination. The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency-use authorization for a Covid-19 test the size of a credit card.
And in mortgage and housing news …
ANOTHER MONTH: The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac again extend flexible policies put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including buying loans in forbearance.
MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications were up 33 percent from a year ago, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
FEDTUBE: The 2020 version of the Federal Reserve’s loftiest annual meeting will be webcast this week, allowing the public to tune in for the first time. It could be the stage for an important policy shift.
LATE PAYMENTS: Nearly six months into the pandemic, the share of American homeowners and renters who have missed or been late with their monthly housing payments is holding steady.
ON THE BRINK: With much of the service economy and low-income workers hit hard, the pandemic-prompted economic crisis could also become a housing crisis.
ONE-TIME PAYMENT HELP: Virginia Beach to offer short-term mortgage assistance to residents affected by coronavirus
PREVENTING VACANCIES: Code enforcement can be a tool for preventing rental property vacancy and abandonment.
NEW YORK HARDSHIP: New York’s economy is suffering the most in the nation due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Bankrate analysis, which used mortgage delinquency numbers to make its determination. Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi and Massachusetts joined New York in the top five.
WHO SHOULD PAY FOR RISK? A personal finance expert compares the GSE “adverse market” refinance fee to PMI insurance and asks whether consumers should have to pay for risk and what criteria are best measures of risk.
NATURAL DISASTER OPTIONS: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released information regarding mortgage assistance options for borrowers effected by natural disasters like the current hurricanes and tropical storms – including the 4.94 percent of GSE-backed mortgages that are in forbearance.