Mortgage Roundup (9/16/20) – Recovery, Land & Securities

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 16.  The Wall Street Journal reports the Federal Trade Commission is preparing an anti-trust lawsuit against Facebook. Hurricane Sally made landfall after intensifying into a Category 2 storm. Only Wilfred is left on the list of 21 storm names pre-approved for the season by the World Meteorological Organization. 

And in mortgage and housing news …

MORTGAGE APPS: Mortgage applications were 33 percent higher in August than a year ago. 

RECOVERY: Federal Reserve officials continue discussions about how to detail plans to support the economynow that they have adopted a strategy to keep interest rates lower for longer.

GSE CONSERVATORSHIP: Will changes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mean higher mortgage rates? 

LAB LAND RUSH: Offices may be sitting empty, but life sciences labs are the hot new Covid-era real estate properties. 

MORTGAGE SECURITIES FLOOD: Low mortgage rates have spurred a boom in home refinancing, which in turn has spurred a boom in the issuance of mortgage-backed securities. 

RE-IMAGINE SERVICING: Freddie Mac is adding more features to its digital servicing platform. 

PROTECT INCOME: Retirees are encouraged to create an emergency fund for rental properties. 

LOWER CREDIT HOMEOWNERS: Lower credit homeowners weigh heavily on U.S. mortgage market. Almost twice the percentage of Ginnie Mae borrowers have demanded forbearance compared to conventional ones, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report. 

STUDENT LOAN SETTLEMENT: Tens of thousands of former students at ITT Technical Institute, a for-profit chain that collapsed four years ago, will not have to repay $330 million in private student loans that prosecutors called “reckless” and deceptive. 

TROUBLED COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: A California lender to the immigrant community is among the midsize banks pressured by its heavy load of potentially troubled commercial real-estate loans.