Summary List Placement One question is plaguing prospective homebuyers in this red-hot housing market: when will prices start coming down? But the cure for high prices is high prices, to paraphrase a famous saying from the commodities world. There’s evidence that buyers are providing the cure, staying away from the high prices and cooling the […]
California-based mortgage lender New American Funding is increasing its national footprint to include the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic. Sam Ellsworth will lead the expansion as director of national retail sales. Along with planting locations in key cities across the country, Ellsworth said the expansion effort includes strengthening high-level company leadership, which will enable the […]
Summary List Placement Extreme heat is hitting the west coast just as wildfire season is approaching, and experts predict above-normal fire potential for much of the region, which could have devastating impacts. The record heat wave has melted power cables in Portland and hospitals in the west are seeing an influx of patients due to […]
During the Trump administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appeared to studiously avoid weighing in on the potential effects of climate change on the value of their more than $7 trillion of securitized mortgages. After all, the former president was a well known climate skeptic and the GSEs perhaps wanted to avoid his ire, especially […]
Summary List Placement House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding firm on her commitment to not approve a $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure agreement until a party-line package reaches the lower chamber. “The statement that I made as such is the statement I stand by,” Pelosi told reporters at a press conference, adding that House Democrats are […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden’s Education Department has begun the process of reforming the student-loan system. But new findings from an agency within his administration stressed the dire need to implement reforms. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which ensures consumers are treated fairly, released a report on Tuesday that found loan servicers have […]
Summary List Placement An amusement park in Northern California is finding it so hard to recruit staff that it’s getting executives to work shifts on its rides and food stands. Executives at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will be working these shifts at least once a week this summer, Karl Rice, its president, told Reuters. […]
Summary List Placement Uber and Lyft say they’ve been making strides in rebuilding their driver workforce as the economy opens up, but they’re encountering a vastly different labor market and a driver shortage. Will Coleman, the CEO of Alto, a ride-hailing competitor, told Insider he believes the driver shortage is largely due to better options […]
Summary List Placement The Federal Reserve did what it had to do. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic — and its intense economic fallout — prompted the central bank to use its most powerful tool and set its benchmark interest rate near zero. Looking to further aid financial markets, the Fed also began purchasing $120 […]
After two consecutive weeks of increases, mortgage applications decreased 6.9% in the week ending June 25, 2021, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage applications had increased 2.1% and 4.2% in the previous two weeks, respectively. The 6.9% dip brought application volume to its lowest level in almost 18 months, according […]
Homepoint, the No. 3 wholesale lender in America, has reorganized its operations and sales personnel in a restructuring that will lead to the loss of potentially hundreds of jobs. On Monday, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based lender said its new regionalized staffing model, dubbed “Homepoint Amplify,” has been rolled out to broker partners across the country […]
Summary List Placement The first advance payments of the bulked-up child tax credit are poised to go out to millions of American families in just over two weeks on July 15 — a key part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus law that took effect in March. But Democratic-led efforts to reach the poorest […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden reached an agreement last week with a group of bipartisan senators on a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, and they claimed it was paid for. But details of the funding proposals are murky — so much so that experts are calling it completely unrealistic. Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at […]
With the July 4th weekend nearly upon us, it’s time to reflect all that we have been through in the past year and how, as a country, we have overcome so many daunting obstacles, including what we have been through in the housing market. The first thing that pops into my shriveled brain is how […]
Summary List Placement The Mars family sits atop a delicious empire. They’re the heirs to the candy throne that is Mars Inc., maker of Snickers, Mars Bars, Milky Way, Twix, M&M’s, and more — not to mention a wider portfolio that includes PetCare products, drinks, and gum. The century-old company has helped the Mars family […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden reached an agreement last week with a bipartisan group of senators on a near $1 trillion infrastructure plan, a deal that cut over half of the president’s initial proposal on “hard infrastructure” like roads and bridges, not to mention care-economy measures from his American Families Plan. Biden said at […]
Summary List Placement Another month, another acceleration in US home inflation. Home prices throughout the US surged 14.6% from year-ago levels, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index. The reading marks a pick-up from the 13.3% rate seen in March and the fastest pace of price growth since data collection began in 1987. […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin says he believes a Democratic-only reconciliation bill “can be done,” but has not agreed on how big it will be. “I’ve agreed that can be done. I just haven’t agreed on the amount,” Manchin said of the infrastructure plan on MSNBC on Tuesday morning. “I haven’t seen everything that […]
Summary List Placement A trio of Senate Democrats unveiled a plan on Monday to provide up to $9,000 to most American children through a savings account in just the latest Democratic effort to give cash to lower-income families. The measure — known as the Young American Savers Act — would provide federal assistance to children […]
Summary List Placement Restaurants and retailers around the US are grappling with a supply-chain crisis for some of their key ingredients. A recent Reuters report found that at least nine restaurants and fast-food chains, including Subway and Chipotle, were out of stock in some items at certain locations. A Wendy’s franchisee in the south told […]
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume fell two basis points last week to 3.91%, according to a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA estimates two million homeowners are still in some form of a forbearance plan. Broken down by investor type, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 3 basis points to 2.02%. Ginnie […]
Summary List Placement As the economy is beginning to recover from the pandemic, there’s a record number of job openings, but that’s not the big story, former Obama economists wrote in a paper released Monday. The big news is that so many of the unemployed are exiting unemployment, but not for jobs. That isn’t normal. […]
Summary List Placement Utah’s economy came roaring back and then some from pandemic devastation. Meanwhile states like New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada continue to lag far behind their February 2020 economies. That’s according to an index from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which tracks improvements and declines across four major economic measures in […]
Summary List Placement Americans who do not plan to get vaccinated are more likely to participate in Fourth of July activities, a new survey from consumer insights firm Numerator found. About 65% of US adults have received at least one vaccine dose as of Friday, according to The New York Times tracker — a number […]
Summary List Placement For Americans earning the minimum wage, surging inflation is making their dollar the weakest it’s been in more than a decade. On the surface, the labor market seems to finally be benefitting low-income workers. Wage growth surged to the fastest pace since the 1980s through April and May. Businesses are increasingly using […]
Ginnie Mae is set to introduce a new 40-year mortgage term for its issuers on the heels of administrative shake ups at the top of the housing industry. Only loans with terms greater than 361 months and less than or equal to 480 months will be accepted, but there will be no loan amount restriction, […]
Summary List Placement Like many aspects of the US recovery, the labor shortage is uneven. Where some industries were able to quickly shift to telework and retain most employees through the pandemic, others are struggling to rehire. Job openings sit at a record-high 9.3 million, but hiring lagged economist forecasts for two months straight while […]
Summary List Placement Employment is rebounding in the Northeast — and economists say the region’s high vaccination rates are a major factor. As more people get their shots, economies in the Northeast, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in the country, are reopening, prompting both customers to flock to restaurants and other businesses […]
Summary List Placement The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits is declining at a faster rate in Missouri and 21 other US states that opted out of receiving enhanced federal payments this month, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law in March, […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday that he could support a $2 trillion Democratic-only infrastructure plan. It suggests Senate Democrats may have to significantly curtail their ambitions to earn Manchin’s vote. The influential senator pushed back on the $6 trillion price tag for a potential plan drafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate […]
Summary List Placement In 2020, Black borrowers were 80% more likely to be denied a mortgage than white borrowers. While this statistic is jarring, it is hardly surprising to those of us familiar with the US mortgage industry. A holistic look at America’s housing market shows that it disadvantages people of color in some startling […]
Summary List Placement Today, rolling suitcases are the mainstays of moving sidewalks, duty-free shops, and business commuters pacing while on the phone. But while it’s a no-brainer that rolling a suitcase is easier on your arms than carrying it, they’re still a relatively recent addition to the mainstream. That’s strange, though, because they’ve been around for […]
Summary List Placement A group of southern California lawmakers, including San Diego’s mayor, called for an end to pandemic restrictions along the border with Mexico as part of an effort to boost the local economy. “As the rate of COVID-19 cases continue to plummet, and other restrictions have been lifted, I see no reason to […]
Summary List Placement The post-pandemic economy is taking shape. Fifteen months after the US first plunged into lockdown, the economy is well on its way to a complete reopening. Spending is up, businesses are rehiring, and Americans are — slowly — returning to work. Economists largely agree that economic output will grow at the fastest […]
Summary List Placement Hawkish now, dovish later? The Federal Reserve and financial markets are pulling in different directions. On the one hand, the Fed seems to have grown a bit more worried about the possibility of inflation. At last week’s meeting, Fed members moved forward their median estimate for the next interest rate hike and […]
Summary List Placement Indiana residents were set to see their unemployment benefits cut off, but that just changed after a ruling in state court. On Friday, Judge John Hanley issued an order in a lawsuit brought against the state by residents due to lose their benefits. The firms had requested a preliminary injunction that would […]
Summary List Placement On Friday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Republicans for walking back on a bipartisan infrastructure deal just a day after President Joe Biden said “we have a deal.” On Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez argued the senators had wasted time and negotiated “in bad faith.” “Wow, who could have possibly predicted that Senate Republicans were wasting […]
Summary List Placement Throughout the pandemic, unemployment benefits have taken on a newfound prominence as millions of Americans found themselves jobless — and newly eligible for expanded aid. But while it’s no secret that some states were bogged down with administrative issues for getting that aid out the door, a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek […]
Summary List Placement After decades of weaker-than-expected price growth, America has inflation on the brain. Inflation — or the general rate at which prices climb — has taken center stage as the US economy climbs out of its year-long slump. Economists expected the combination of a swift reopening and trillions of dollars in stimulus would […]
Summary List Placement As chair of the Senate subcommittee on economic policy, Elizabeth Warren in April invited the CEOs of the country’s major student-loan servicers to testify on the impact of student debt on borrowers. She, and the subcommittee’s Republican ranking member, John Kennedy, say that one of them may have given false testimony. On […]
The 2021 nominations for HW Insiders close today, so be sure to nominate your organizational all star before it’s too late! This award program recognizes key players in housing who are absolutely essential to the performance of their organizations, doing the leg work that makes the mortgage industry tick. Winners will be featured not only […]
Summary List Placement The CEO of HEI Hotels and Resorts said the chain was encouraging customers to authorize tips at check-in to ensure staff were recognized for their hard work. Guests who opt-in would pay tips when they left the hotel, Ted Darnall told Insider on Thursday. The chain has more than 80 hotels and […]
Summary List Placement Red-hot inflation persisted through May as nationwide supply bottlenecks and extraordinary demand led producers and businesses to lift prices. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — among the country’s most popular measures of inflation — rose 0.4% through May, the Commerce Department said Friday. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg […]
Summary List Placement The CEO of Starbucks insisted the chain wasn’t running low on coffee and cups – but said some baked goods were in short supply. “We’ve had some shortages in the bakery case, that certainly is true,” CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC’s Jim Cramer Thursday. He didn’t specify which baked goods had run […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden has thrown his support behind a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal focused on roads and bridges — and part of the spending would be potentially offset by unused relief funds and targeting unemployment insurance fraud. Repurposed federal UI will account for $25 billion of the deal’s pay-fors, a person […]