Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 30. Trump and Biden clashed in their first debate. Disney will lay off 28,000 theme park workers. New York City elementary schools opened for in-person classes.
And in mortgage and housing news …
NAHB BACKS SC NOMINEE: The National Association of Home Builders announced its support of Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.
DEBATING SUBURBS: The future of suburbs briefly took center stage in the first 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden – continuing a months-long dispute on the issue between the two.
REFINANCING YIELD: How much can you save by refinancing? A city-by-city look.
CANDIDATES’ HOUSING POSITIONS: Where Trump and Biden stand on housing issues.
ASSET BUBBLES: Federal Reserve officials’ promises to hold interest rates very low for a long time could present them with a future dilemma: what to do if their policies inflate asset bubbles.
PHYSICAL BRANCHES: Even as online banking rose in popularity pre-pandemic, a new Fed survey shows most families continued to use their bank’s physical branches, too.
MORTGAGE FORECAST: Will mortgage rates move higher or lower to end the year?
EVICTION PROTECTION: About 1 million renters are most likely to file for protection from eviction and another 3.2 million are “somewhat likely” to file for protection from eviction under the CDC Order and from state eviction moratoriums.
ROCKET EXPANDS DIGITAL ACCESS: Mortgage lender Rocket Mortgage made a $1.4 million investment in Connect 313, a Detroit city’s initiative to expand residents’ digital access. The effort is providing a boost to families with students having to do more of their school work online.
BACK TO THE OFFICE: A real estate CEO says companies will have to ‘seduce’ staff to go back to the office.
ASSESSING RISK: U.S. lenders are preparing for big losses, but yield spreads suggest they are too conservative. Bonds markets vs. bank loss reserves: they can’t both be right. An upbeat bond market is at odds with banks over scale of Covid risks.