HousingWire Daily

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray's take on whether or not the U.S. housing industry views foreclosures as a last resort.For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:Markets are shaped by the forces of supply and demand, buying and selling, and how they come into some sort of balance. Markets that operate properly tend toward a discernable equilibrium that is predictable and sustainable. But many things can disturb this equilibrium. We might say, paradoxically, that market forces are fragile in being liable to disturbances, but once disturbed they have a powerful tendency to recover an eventual balance.But economic markets differ in the mechanisms that restore them to equilibrium after any notable disturbance. Some markets experience greater frictions that slow their recovery. In the pure models of academic economists, prices immediately (or at least quickly) adjust to achieve balance among buyers and sellers, the mathematics take their own course, and equilibrium is restored as the natural and seemingly inevitable state of the market.As the Great Recession showed, however, that does not happen in any serious dislocation of the housing market. When a borrower falls behind on the mortgage, there is one ultimate method for collecting on the unpaid debt: foreclosure.Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers Labor Department data that indicates another 2.1 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, Freddie Mac’s Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey that shows mortgage rates fell to another all-time low, and fintech news from SmartRent and Amazon. But before you listen, here’s a brief word from our sponsor.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:       [PULSE] Does the mortgage industry view foreclosure as a last resort?       Jobless claims top 40 million as pandemic layoffs hit 1 in 4 workers       Mortgage rates hit another all-time low       Amazon among companies helping apartment platform SmartRent raise $60 million

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses whether or not the U.S. housing market is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.For some background on the story, in an article, columnist Logan Mohtashami writes:If we are diligent, we will be able to identify the return of hope and light coming back into the American economy. While no one could truly know when we’ll see the end of the coronavirus, we can at least know what signs to look for that the housing market is on the rebound:  Flattened Curve: The first, and in fact, a prerequisite event that will indicate that the economy will come out of this tunnel is the turning of the number of new cases of infection from positive to flat or negative.   End of Stay-at-Home Orders: The second and also prerequisite indicator that the economy will be getting back on track is the lifting of stay-at-home orders. 10-Year Yield Goes Above 1%: Dramatic changes in the bond markets were the harbingers of our oncoming economic decline and will be the beacons for our recovery. Decline in Credit Stress and Jobless Claim: When credit stress and jobless claims start to fall, you can believe we are on the road to recovery. Data from the hardest-hit sectors starts to trend upward: Some of the hardest-hit business sectors will show recovery first because the declines have been so horrific. Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly applications survey, an announcement from Zillow that it has resumed and expanded its ibuying service, and house price gains in Massachusetts’ housing market.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: Is the housing market already rebounding from COVID-19? Jump in mortgage applications for home purchases shows buyers are back Zillow Offers resumes buying in five more markets Massachusetts house prices gained 11%, outpacing the nation

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses how the mortgage industry should be thinking about foreclosures during the nation’s economic downturn.For some background on the story, here’s a brief summary of the article:The current economic collapse raises pressing questions about what lessons we learned from the last one. No two crises are ever the same. Although they have many common elements, which flow directly from an extended plunge in economic activity, they have distinct causes and hence different trajectories. At a minimum, the reform measures that were put in place to address aspects of the prior crisis will alter the course of the next one.The Great Recession, which lasted from December of 2007 to June of 2009, is of special interest here because it was an economic collapse brought about specifically by failures in the housing and mortgage markets. Some blame government policy for those failures, and it bears some share of the responsibility. Yet the greater weight of the evidence has shown that rampant Wall Street financial speculation was the core of the problem. The traditional approach to housing and mortgage financing became distorted by new mortgage-based investment instruments, leveraged lending, and lax underwriting, all of which turned out to be grounded in ill-founded assumptions.Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers a forbearance report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, data from Zillow that shows a rebound in April’s pending home sales and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s new online resources for consumers.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: [PULSE] How should we think about foreclosures? Mortgages in forbearance rise to 4.2 million, MBA says More good news for May: newly pending sales up almost 50% from same period in April Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac launch online resources for consumers

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath interviews Mortgage Bankers Association Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni on the giant uptick in forbearance requests in the industry, along with the impact these requests are having on the industry. According to the latest information from the MBA’s Forbearance and Call Volume Survey, as of May 17, the total number of loans now in forbearance now sits at 8.36%, meaning there are about 4.2 million homeowners now in forbearance plans. When it comes to the biggest challenges that servicers are facing, Fratantoni said, “For servicers, one of the real challenges that they’ve been wrestling with is how to clearly communicate what those potential exits are from forbearance.”“Thankfully, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been out with some recent updates to their scripting and the launch of their deferral option, which we think in many cases is probably the most likely exit for a lot of borrowers,” he added. Fratantoni also commented on the biggest challenges that lenders are dealing with, saying “On the lending side, there have been all kinds of complications for someone who does or does not miss pay their payments under forbearance. Does just the simple fact of being in forbearance alter their ability to get a refinance or buy a new home? That’s something that I think the FHFA and the GSEs are still struggling with.”Fratantoni wraps up the interview by sharing his thoughts on the impact that the increase in forbearance requests could have on the potential for future delinquencies as borrowers start to exit forbearance at the end of this pandemic.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing and mortgage industries but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd.

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd interviews Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial, about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on this year’s homebuying demand.For some background on the interview, here’s what has happened in the industry so far:At the end of February and the beginning of March, it was projected that the spring homebuying season would arrive early.In fact, January 2020 was the strongest January for purchase mortgage applications in 11 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.The beginning of March also showed that homebuyers were anxious to get moving into homebuying season, but that was before the coronavirus changed everything.Although there were still homes being sold in early March, they were likely under contract in February, before COVID-19 forced most of the U.S. economy to shut down, Redfin said.But towards the end of March, when stay-at-home orders were put into place and people were left unemployed, there was a 148% year-over-year increase in homes being delisted during the week ending March 29, coming to a total of 28,140 homes pulled off the market, according to Redfin.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: New listings and home sales drop in what would have been peak homebuying season Mortgage rate drops to within 1 basis point of all-time low Housing starts plummet to a five-year low Mortgage refinancings set to surge to a 17-year high April home sales take biggest hit in almost a decade

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath spotlights New York City’s struggling housing market, as the metro is experiencing a significant decline in residential sales.For some background on the story, here’s a brief summary of the article:New York City is the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and the local economy has been harshly impacted by the health crisis. But the city’s residential real estate market was facing problems before the pandemic hit town.  According to the Real Estate Board of New York, the city’s total sales volume during the first quarter of this year fell 16% year-over-year from $10.5 billion to $8.7 billion. Total residential transactions also took a 16% year-over-year hit, down from 10,382 sales in the first quarter of 2019 to 8,702 sales during the first three months of this year.But after the pandemic paralyzed the city’s economy and created a healthcare nightmare in its hospitals, the housing market took an even sharper dive.According to data from PropertyShark, residential sales activity sank from the second week of March to the end of the month in a 61% year-over-year freefall. Sales activity during the first two weeks of April were 62% below the same period one year earlier.Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers a report from Black Knight that claims U.S. mortgage delinquencies nearly doubled in April, data from Redfin that indicates the nation’s affordable housing markets are experiencing an uptick in home prices, and Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: New York City’s housing market struggles under lockdown with residential sales down 61% YOY Mortgage delinquencies nearly double in April on COVID-19 shock Affordable housing markets see prices rising as the number of homes for sale continues to drop Mortgage rate drops to within 1 basis point of all-time low

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath interviews HousingWire Mortgage Editor Ben Lane to discuss the current record low interest rates and the likelihood that rates will sink below 3% this year as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the economy. For some background on the interview, here’s a small snippet of his article:Until about three months ago, it was basically unthinkable that interest rates would ever fall below their record low of 3.31%, which was set in November 2012. But then the coronavirus happened.And as the virus was wreaking havoc on the world and its economy, interest rates not only broke that record; they’ve since settled comfortably below the previous all-time record level and stayed under 3.3% for three straight weeks.But is it possible that interest rates are on the verge of falling to levels no one ever thought they’d see: under 3%?The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:Are mortgage rates about to fall below 3%?

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses how the mortgage industry is learning to navigate a changing landscape.For some background on the story, here’s a brief summary of the article:The lending world is undoubtedly one of the most complex and ever-changing environments within the financial hub. As loan originators, we are required to not only stay abreast of market changes but to also understand them enough to convey this information to our clients and referral partners alike.For many companies, the uncertainty of the market has caused internal lending guidelines to tighten up and may be a point of contention amongst originators. So how do we handle the complexities? How do we have those conversations with our referral partners and even those sometimes-difficult conversations with clients in our pipelines? Further, do we revert to a fight or flight mentality? In order to be efficient in advising clients and partners on the daily changes, it is important to be armed with not only the current market but also what the future forecast may look like. This will allow for originators to be able to have fluid educated conversations with clients and partners on when is the best time to move forward with their home purchases and/or refinances and when is a good time to lock their rates. This will help provide the tools for clients to make the necessary decisions regarding their personal situations. Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s first step towards ending conservatorship, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association that suggests the forbearance rate is slowing its pace, and a forecast from Fannie Mae that projects mortgage refinancings to climb to a 17-year high.HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: [PULSE] Lending in a new world: How to navigate this changing landscape Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac head for the exit as COVID-19 rages Has the mortgage forbearance curve flattened? Mortgage refinancings set to surge to a 17-year high

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd interviews The Urban Institute's Alanna McCargo to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to impact America’s black homeownership rate.For some background on the interview, here’s what has happened in the industry so far:Last year, the homeownership rate for black Americans fell to 40.6% in the three months through June, the lowest level in the Census Bureau’s quarterly data going back to 1994, according to a government report. It was the smallest share recorded for black households since the 1950 decennial Census when it was 34.5%. After the 1968 Fair Housing Act banned discrimination in real estate practices, the homeownership rate for black Americans climbed steadily to a record high of 49.7% in 2004’s second quarter and stayed near that level for two years, according to Census data. The downward trajectory began in 2007 when predatory home loans started going into default, sparking a financial crisis that spread across the globe as trillions of dollars in mortgage securities lost value. While the overall U.S. homeownership rate fell from 68.4% at the beginning of 2007 to 64.1% in 2019’s second quarter – a drop of just over four percentage points – the decline for black Americans was much steeper. The rate went from 48% to 40.6%, dropping more than seven percentage points. And now data shows, that the Coronavirus pandemic is likely to worsen prospects for Black Americans, which will lead to a larger gap in the homeownership rate. The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: Biden urges support for black businesses and homeownership [PULSE] 3 ways to increase and empower black homeownership Homeownership rate for black Americans drops to record low

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses how social distancing has spurred a growing demand for digital mortgages.For some background on the story, here’s a brief summary of the article:With the COVID-19 pandemic discouraging or entirely halting in-person meetings with lenders and appraisers, the adoption of digital mortgages has accelerated. Advances in technology have stepped up to address the stickiest non-digital segments of the mortgage application process.The current situation has added fuel to a decade-long trend among banks and lenders to provide more and better digital products and services. For mortgage lenders, that means offering as much of an end-to-end experience – underwriting to approval to closing – as possible for prospective borrowers. This has grown from an electronic application to include more complex parts of the process, such as notarization and identification, employment and income verification, even inspection and appraisal.At the same time, digital mortgage technologies – especially advances in video applications – have evolved enough to successfully balance borrowers’ need for speed with a human touch. Complex steps that often require human interaction, such as explaining final loan documents or understanding mortgage terms and options, can increasingly be done digitally.As COVID-19 has complicated or discouraged homebuying, it also accelerated existing trends in mortgage lending. Those lenders that have already invested significantly in developing sophisticated and proven online and mobile solutions sit in the best position to benefit from the shift.Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers an extended foreclosure and eviction freeze from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a partnership between J.P. Morgan Asset Management and American Homes 4 Rent to build thousands of new rental homes, and Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode: [PULSE] Social distancing spurs the growing embrace of digital mortgages Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD extend foreclosure and eviction freeze JPMorgan Chase, American Homes 4 Rent plan to build thousands of single-family rental homes