Good morning! Today is Thursday, September 24. Two officers were shot and a suspect is in custody amid night of unrest after a grand jury decision on the Breonna Taylor case. Walmart is using drones to deliver Covid-19 tests. California will phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
And in mortgage and housing news …
WELLS FARGO APOLOGY: Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf apologized for telling employees that the banking giant was failing to meet diversity goals because there were not enough qualified minorities in the industry.
HOME PRICES: House prices increased 1 percent in July from the previous month – while jumping 6.5 percent from July 2019, according to a report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
MORTGAGE APPS: Applications for home mortgage purchases increased 13 percent from the previous week and 25 percent over a year ago, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
ZILLOW I-BUYER: Zillow is cutting real estate agents out of its I-buying program, becoming a brokerage in an effort to streamline its homebuying process.
UNEVEN RECOVERY: Commercial real estate flounders as the housing market booms.
FORBEARANCE BALLOON PAYMENTS: Big banks that have been offering mortgage relief to borrowers hurt by the Covid-19 economic meltdown are being criticized for requiring balloon payments for loans in forbearance.
HOTEL CLOSINGS: Experts warn that a tsunami of hotel closings is coming after tourism continues to suffer in the Covid-19 pandemic.
LIBOR BAN: Ginnie Mae will restrict adjustable rate mortgages benchmarked to LIBOR starting January.
HOME EQUITY: How to get the most out of your home’s equity.
UNDERWRITING PROCESS: How the underwriting process works to determines whether a home buyer will qualify for a mortgage and under what terms.
LENDER DELAYS: Underwriting time in the UK has quadrupled under lender pandemic strain.
WHOLESALE STRATEGY: Inside Rocket’s new strategy to win over mortgage brokers.