HousingWire Daily

In today’s HousingWire Daily episode, Realtor.com’s Senior Economist George Ratiu discusses how student loan debt is impacting the nation’s finically strained borrowers.For some background on the interview, here’s a brief summary of HousingWire’s coverage on the student debt crisis:What is holding back potential homeowners from buying? According to the National Association of Realtors 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 47% of potential homebuyers said student loan debt was the biggest obstacle in saving for a down payment.In addition, 43% cited high rent/mortgages and 36% cited credit card debt as factors getting in the way of saving for a down payment.This year, the number of first-time homebuyers dropped to 31% from 33% last year, the lowest share since 1987 when it was 30%.Over the course of this year, home prices have continued to tick upward due to low inventory and high demand. NAR said that the median down payment for all homebuyers this year was 12% — 7% for first-timers and 16% for repeat buyers. Out of first-timers, 26% said they used family for help for the down payment via gift or loan, which is down from last year when that number was 33%.Of those who purchased after March – when the pandemic was declared in the U.S. – 15% said they were more likely to purchase a multi-generational home compared to 11% who purchased before. These buyers were also more likely to purchase more expensive homes after March, at $339,400 compared to $270,000 before.HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: Student loans hinder saving for a down payment, NAR finds With Biden win, the future of forbearance and student loans

In today’s HousingWire Daily episode HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath joins HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to discuss the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Brena and Sarah discuss the recent announcement on the progress of a 2nd coronavirus vaccine and its potential impact on the housing market.For more background on what is discussed, here is a preview of today’s interview. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length:Q: Outside of the big news that’s trending now, is there any other piece of news right now that's piquing your interest?Sarah Wheeler: I'm interested in how a COVID vaccine might affect interest rates, especially mortgage rates. We know we're in a low-rate environment, which is what's fueling our origination boom right now. So, I wonder if we get this under control, is the Fed still going to stick to that really low-interest rate through the end of 2021 into 2022, which is what they've said and what people are really banking on? I know they don't want to do anything. And, they've been really careful and cautious, so it's not like they want to shake anything up. I think it's going to be interesting because if in fact this vaccine makes a huge difference very quickly, which is still to be seen, I will be interested to see what that looks like for mortgage rates.The other thing that we're really keeping an eye on is forbearance, especially with FHA forbearance. While there are a lot of people exiting forbearance with agency loans, that's not true with FHA, so we are keeping a close eye on that. I think forbearance will be the story and possibly foreclosure, but I think there's going to be more forbearance in the next six months.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: What the surge in COVID cases means for the housing market this winter Mortgage technology is key for lenders and title companies in 2021

In today’s Daily Download episode, Dana Wade, housing commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration and the assistant secretary for housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, discusses the administration’s newly released annual report, which analyzes the financial status of the mutual mortgage insurance fund for fiscal Year 2020.For some background on the interview, here’s a brief summary of HousingWire’s coverage on the report:The Federal Housing Administration’s flagship Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund is in the best condition since before the financial crisis with a combined capital ratio for FY 2020 at 6.1% – only .3% away from levels seen in 2007.Under the National Housing Act, the FHA is required by Congress to maintain at least a 2% ratio in reserves for the MMI fund, which it has done now for the sixth consecutive year.Dana Wade, FHA commissioner and assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke to HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd in an exclusive interview and gave her perspective on the annual report.“It’s kind of like the Super Bowl for FHA, or at least for those nerdy enough to pay attention to this,” Wade said.Up from 4.84% in 2019, Wade said robust housing values and the growth in house price appreciation was not only a bright spot for the housing community but a driving factor in the 1.26% year-over-year increase the MMI fund experienced.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:FHA Commissioner on the MMI fund capital ratio growth to 6.1%

In today’s Daily Download episode, Mortgage Marketing Radio’s Geoff Zimpfer and HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler discuss what a Biden presidency could mean for housing, as well as what the housing market could look like in 2021.For some background on the interview, here’s a brief summary of HousingWire’s latest article on Biden’s housing agenda:As results trickle in following a historic 2020 general election, results seem to be leaning toward a Joe Biden victory, but potentially also a Republican-led Senate. What would the impact of a Biden presidency be on housing?Gridlock in Washington won’t stop Biden’s administration from attempting to push through sweeping changes into housing, where the former vice president has promised to invest $640 billion over the next 10 years so Americans can have “access to housing that is affordable, stable, safe and healthy, accessible, energy efficient and resilient,” according to his campaign website. He has pledged to introduce a tax credit for first-time homebuyers upwards of $15,000, reintroduce sharper regulatory teeth to agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, alter a spate of restrictive zoning laws to increase development, build millions of units of affordable housing, and cap payments for certain renters. It is also widely believed a Biden administration would keep the GSEs under conservatorship. Regardless of who’s in the White House, observers from across the housing and mortgage industries believe interest rates will continue to hover near historic lows for the next several years and volumes will remain high, largely due to simple economic realities: there simply isn’t enough inventory and the economy is too fragile for rates to increase. The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: What a Biden victory would mean for housing

In today’s Daily Download episode, the digital team interviews James Kleimann, HousingWire’s mortgage editor, on loanDepot’s announcement that it plans to go public.For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:After a dramatic false start in 2015, California-based lender loanDepot says it’s finally going public.The company, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Anthony Hsieh, said Wednesday morning that its newly formed affiliate loanDepot Inc. had confidentially filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public.“The number of shares of Class A common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed initial public offering have not been determined,” the lender said in a statement.In September, Bloomberg reported that loanDepot, which operates in retail, wholesale and correspondent channels, was eyeing an IPO that would see it valued at between $12 billion and $15 billion.LoanDepot, backed by private equity shop Parthenon Capital Partners, first announced plans to go public in September 2015, but canceled the IPO hours before pricing due to what the company called adverse “market conditions.”At the time, loanDepot had sought a market value of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. In March 2017, the company revived plans for an IPO but didn’t follow through.LoanDepot, which has a reputation for investing heavily in technology, was the sixth-largest mortgage lender in 2019, issuing 146,000 originations. It originated 52,000 purchase loans and 81,000 refinancings, according to data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: LoanDepot says it’s going public (for real this time) LoanDepot could make public debut this year at up to $15B Will loanDepot finally file for IPO?

In today's Daily Download episode, EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler joins the HousingWire Digital Team to discuss hot housing market trends in the U.S., how he thinks a second stimulus bill will impact Americans, and what may be ahead in 2021.In this episode, Kessler also explains why he does not anticipate trends like mortgage rates rising in the upcoming year. According to him, given a struggling economy, coupled with a delayed stimulus bill which projects another four million jobs estimated to be lost, the trend may not reverse anytime soon.Later in the episode, Kessler discusses The Commerce Department's recent home sales data and his thoughts on the housing market's lack of inventory."I do believe there's a low supply, but I think that drop is not as much of a result of the supply in the market," Kessler said. "It's more that you just had better months prior."Kessler said while the housing market is on fire, he does not think the two dynamics of low-interest rates and low supply are necessarily sustainable."A lot of people in this country, their biggest assets are in their home, and they're going to look to have to find ways to monetize that because they're going to have no choices," Kessler said. "So those two movies, of a good housing market and a very struggling economy are going to converge, and I think people need to pay close attention to that."The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: Without another stimulus package, rent delinquencies could rise Why is the housing market thriving in a pandemic?

In today’s Daily Download episode HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath joins Mortgage Editor James Kleimann to discuss the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Brena and James discuss president-elect Joe Biden’s election win and how it could impact the mortgage industry, as well as Rocket Mortgage’s upcoming earnings call.For more background on what is discussed, here is a preview of today’s interview. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length:Q: What were some of the top stories that stood out to you last week?James Kleimann: There was only one story that happened in my mind last week and also, it happened to be one of the most well-read pieces, which is the story I did with Tim Glaze about what a Biden administration would mean for housing. There are a lot of national publications and talking heads on cable news, and they talk about the presidency, but there are very few outlets that look at it from the housing goals.What we really wanted to do was to talk to some experts in housing and in the mortgage industry as well, and really try to get a sense of what Biden would prioritize and what would actually be achievable during his term. And that really depends primarily on what happens with the Senate. Last week, we had a lot of clarity on how the electoral votes were shaping up, but we didn't know until Saturday that it would, in fact, absolutely be Biden. But at that point, we sort of operated on the premise that we were probably going to have Joe Biden at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and very likely we were going to have a Republican-controlled Senate. Unless they're able to flip Georgia, which could happen but I don't think people expect it to happen.We really wanted to ask people what is going to happen in the first year or two of a Biden presidency, and for the most part, they said they expect a much more active CFPB, just in terms of enforcement. Another key point is Biden in particular, has talked a lot about using the strength of the federal government to push forward affordable housing initiatives, and in some cases, he might use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to strengthen affordable housing. In others, it could be public, private partnerships, kind of like what NYCHA is doing with private ownership in New York City.Q: What is one article or piece of news that you think people need to be paying attention to right now?James Kleimann: I think a lot of companies are going to be paying very close attention to what Rocket Mortgage does in their earnings call coming tomorrow at 4:30 EST. They were projecting record volume and record originations, probably a little bit lower again on sales margin this quarter, but this could be the biggest quarter for Rocket ever. It’s just a funny time because you had all of these minor events in the stock market, it was up 600 and it was down 800, it's all over the place and it spooked a lot of the other independent mortgage banks that were looking to go public.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire’s digital team interviews HousingWire Reporter Tim Glaze and Magazine Editor Kelsey Ramirez on their respective articles that discuss how the 2020 presidential election will affect the U.S. housing industry.The reporters examine the likely impact President Donald Trump or Former Vice President Joe Biden could have on the U.S. housing ecosystem if elected president.During the interview, Glaze addresses how Biden's proposed $15,000 tax credit could help financially strained first-time homebuyers, while  Ramirez examines how homebuilding, housing regulation, and the fate of the GSEs will be impacted if Trump were to win a second term.According to her, a Trump presidency would mean a continued effort toward moving the GSEs out of conservatorship.“When Trump first came to office four years ago, he issued a declaration that he wanted the GSEs out of conservatorship and he wanted it to happen now,” Ramirez said. “He appointed FHFA director Mark Calabria, who has worked to make that happen and he's consistently said that by the time he ends his term, he wants the GSEs either out of conservatorship or well on their way out.”Under a Trump win, Ramirez says housing regulation would continue to be a scaled-back approach.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: What a Biden victory would mean for housing What would a Trump win mean for housing? Mark Calabria: New director changes course for FHFA Trump signs executive order to massively roll back regulation The fate of Fannie and Freddie hangs in the balance

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire continues its 2020 election coverage by discussing what a Biden or Trump victory could mean for the housing industry.For some background, here’s a summary of each article:What a Biden victory would mean for housing?As results trickle in following a historic 2020 general election, results seem to be leaning towarda Joe Biden victory, but potentially also a Republican-led Senate. What would the impact of a Biden presidency be on housing?Gridlock in Washington won’t stop Biden’s administration from attempting to push through sweeping changes into housing, where the former vice president has promised to invest $640 billion over the next 10 years so Americans can have “access to housing that is affordable, stable, safe and healthy, accessible, energy efficient and resilient,” according to his campaign website. He has pledged to introduce a tax credit for first-time homebuyers upwards of $15,000, reintroduce sharper regulatory teeth to agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, alter a spate of restrictive zoning laws to increase development, build millions of units of affordable housing, and cap payments for certain renters. It is also widely believed a Biden administration would keep the GSEs under conservatorship. What would a Trump win mean for housing?In the event that Trump wins the presidency, what would that mean for the housing industry for the next four years?One of the largest impacts will be what happens to the conservatorship status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.When Trump appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria to take the helm of the agency on Dec. 12, 2018, the director was very clear on his goals: remove the GSEs from conservatorship and define the FHFA’s role without them.For now, the FHFA continues to operate under the assumption that business will continue as normal. Just last week the FHFA released its strategic plan for 2021 to 2024, which continues to prepare Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to leave conservatorship.But a Trump presidency is needed in order to ensure the GSE conservatorship really will end.Following the main story, HousingWire covers Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which shows mortgage rates have fallen to a new all-time low, coming in

Today’s Daily Download episode features an in-depth interview with David Stevens, former president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. In this episode, Stevens discusses the U.S. presidential election that is still underway and delves into what the future of housing officials could look like under a potential new administration. He also discusses his latest blog on the adverse market refinance fee.For some background on the interview, here’s a brief summary of Stevens’ latest article on the adverse market refinance fee:Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their Q3 earnings last week, reflecting a combined $6.7 billion in net income, up significantly from the previous quarter. This strong performance was not unexpected, but makes the upcoming 50 basis point adverse market refinance fee more puzzling.In their earnings Q3 2020 10-Q release, Fannie Mae states the following, “We are implementing a new adverse market refinance fee in light of the increased costs and risk we expect to incur due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”Seriously? Fannie produced $7.2 billion in consolidated net income YTD with an impressive fourth quarter likely yet to come. And while they certainly are key to providing enormous liquidity to the nation’s housing system, the results would never be what they were if it were not for two things.First, Federal Reserve actions loaded taxpayers with debt that now exceeds total GDP, pushing mortgage rates to historic lows. Second, agency MBS is one of two Triple-A rated instruments in housing on this earth, along with GNMA MBS, and draws investors globally. That rating has nothing to do with the GSEs’ skill sets, it comes from the government guaranty backing these companies.In other words, for the GSEs, this success was unavoidable. The government’s response to the COVID pandemic drove rates low, spurring consumer demand and the GSEs now benefit by being able to execute through any private capital option because of their exclusivity of the guaranty.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: The adverse market refinance fee on mortgages is unwarranted How will the 2020 election impact the housing market?