Summary List Placement For the first time since 2005, previously owned homes are fetching higher sale prices than newly built houses. The housing market remains red hot even as soaring prices and supply shortages cut into homebuying activity. Low borrowing costs sparked a buying spree earlier in the pandemic and demand has remained historically strong […]
Summary List Placement Uber and Lyft have some good news ahead: Riders in the United States are expected to flock back to the ride-hailing apps soon as COVID-19 cases wane due to increased vaccinations. The bad news is there doesn’t seem to be enough drivers yet to pick them up. In recent weeks, the app […]
Summary List Placement America is currently in the midst of a millennial vs. boomer showdown — and a “gray champion” is arriving to usher in the “Next New Deal.” So says an eerie generational theory known as the Fourth Turning, which was coined in 1997 by Neil Howe and William Strauss in an eponymous book. […]
Summary List Placement The co-founder of Wolf’s Ridge Brewing in Columbus, Ohio, is tired. More than a year ago, Bob Szuter laid off most of his 80-person staff, leaving just 15 core workers to continue operating the restaurant and brewery. He wasn’t sure if his business would survive, and he had two young girls at […]
Summary List Placement At the end of his time in office, Barack Obama famously compared the presidency to an ocean liner. “Sometimes the task of government is to make incremental improvements or try to steer the ocean liner two degrees north or south so that, ten years from now, suddenly we’re in a very different […]
Summary List Placement Senate Republicans are expressing renewed alarm over the nation’s rising federal debt, as President Joe Biden is about to cross the 100-day mark of his administration. GOP senators huddled together on Wednesday and adopted numerous symbolic resolutions meant to govern their party in the upper chamber. They moved closer this week to […]
Summary List Placement They call economics the dismal science, and Diane Swonk normally exemplifies her profession’s penchant for gloominess. “People say, ‘You’re always talking about the downside,’” Swonk, the chief economist at the tax firm Grant Thornton, told me one recent afternoon. “Well, it’s my job to hedge the downside.” But as the economy emerges […]
Summary List Placement Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday said President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office have exceeded the expectations of progressive lawmakers. She particularly lauded the “vision” of Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion infrastructure package, the American Rescue Plan, although she said it was too small. “However, my concern is that the actual plan, […]
Today the Census Bureau reported that in March 2021, new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,021,000. This number beats estimates. Additionally, major positive revisions were made to the sales number of the previous months. I expect this month’s headline to be revised lower a tad next month, but even considering that, […]
Texas Capital Bank is selling its entire $14 billion book of mortgage servicing rights to PHH Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corp, for a “modest profit.” The Dallas-based bank, one of the country’s largest correspondent lenders, also announced that the deal would represent an exit from the correspondent lending sector. According to a news […]
Summary List Placement A group of Democratic lawmakers is calling on President Joe Biden to incorporate wider-reaching and permanent unemployment measures in the next economic package he’s set to unveil next week. In a letter sent on Friday, the lawmakers called on Biden to increase both the amount of unemployment benefits and their duration as […]
Summary List Placement A McDonald’s paying people to interview for jobs. Uber drivers holding off on rides in hopes of higher pay. Millions of payrolls possibly vanishing altogether. The US economy is still down roughly 8.4 million jobs since the pandemic first fueled massive layoffs. That suggests hiring would quickly bounce back as the country […]
Summary List Placement The pandemic changed the American social safety net in dramatic but temporary ways. On top of expanded unemployment insurance, Americans have received three stimulus checks, an amount of aid that comes to nearly $850 billion so far. But what if it was permanent? Some Democrats and economists want this to be the new […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden is preparing to unveil a new set of tax hikes on the richest Americans to fund a collection of new education and childcare programs. The New York Times and Bloomberg reported on Thursday these tax increases will be central to financing Biden’s latest infrastructure plan, in line with the […]
Summary List Placement The US economy’s March rebound may have only been a warm-up. Two popular gauges of business activity swung even higher in preliminary April readings, according to analytics firm IHS Markit. The services activity index leaped to 63.1 from 60.4, indicating the fastest level of expansion since data collection began in 2009. The […]
If recently-introduced first-time homebuyer legislation were to be enacted as written, about 4.37 million people – roughly 10% of the nation’s renters – could be eligible for up to $25,000 in downpayment assistance. Advocates of the policy say the program’s thoughtful targeting would allow it to reach those who need it the most, while industry […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden extended the pause on student loan payments through September 30, and while the inclusion of the 0% interest rate on those payments provided financial relief, it didn’t add up to much for the average individual. A report released on April 5 by Upgraded Points — a travel research group […]
While 2021 likely won’t approach the record breaking tizzy of 2020, the housing market will continue to flourish on the strength of the purchase market, according to economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association. After last year’s record $3.83 trillion in mortgage originations, the MBA forecasts volume to fall 14% this year to $3.28 trillion, which […]
Summary List Placement NFTs are a pillar of the digital economy and could fundamentally impact our society, a report published by online broker eToro and The Tie earlier this week says. At the same time, bitcoin has the potential to destabilize the bullion market and become “digital gold” over the next ten years. The report […]
A year after issuing its first Single-Family Green Mortgage Backed Security on Earth Day 2020, Fannie Mae has now completed 25 transactions for the program, totaling $167 million in bonds backed by mortgages on newly constructed, energy-efficient homes. Most of the issuances have included 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, but recent offerings have pooled 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. […]
Summary List Placement Democrats had scathing assessments for the two-page Republican infrastructure outline released on Thursday, a sign that a bipartisan deal was not immediately in sight on one of President Joe Biden’s top economic priorities. A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia had unveiled the $568 billion […]
Summary List Placement After billionaire Leon Cooperman rejected Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s invitation to testify on her proposed wealth tax, philanthropist Abigail Disney accepted the opportunity to speak about the tax system. Warren is holding a hearing next week, called “Creating Opportunity Through a Fairer Tax System,” where she will discuss her wealth tax proposal, which […]
Summary List Placement The headline mortgage rate’s plunge below 3% last year was a big deal. It added fuel to a housing market boom that continues to this day. The rate climbed back above 3% earlier this year, but now it’s sinking once again as the buying spree hits new snags. That could give potential […]
Mortgage executives have a hard time forgetting 2018. The market was coming off a refi boom, competition was fierce, and the profit margins were slim (if there were any at all). In a bid to gain market share, some of the biggest mortgage originators priced loans aggressively to keep production up and attract loan originators. […]
Summary List Placement Luxury home sales are soaring. They increased by 41.6% in the first three months of 2021 over the first three of 2020, according to a recent Redfin report that defined luxury homes as those selling for an average of $975,000. It’s a sharp contrast from sales for what Redfin deems “affordable” homes […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden told lawmakers that he will put forward a plan to temporarily extend the expanded child tax credit, but he stopped short of proposing to permanently install it, according to The Wall Street Journal. An expanded child tax credit was included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package signed in […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden is planning to raise taxes on millionaire investors to fund child care and education programs, according to a report from The New York Times. Biden is set to reveal the American Family Plan — part of Biden’s $4 trillion overhaul on the US economy — before addressing Congress next […]
For the first time in nearly two months, mortgage rates dropped below 3% last week, down seven basis points to 2.97%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. “The drop in mortgage rates is good news for homeowners who are still looking to take advantage of the very low-rate environment,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s […]
Summary List Placement As the US enters a new normal, half of its population is ready for an economy that’s starkly different from that which came before. About 40% of surveyed Americans believe the economy “needs major changes” as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Pew Research report published Thursday. One in […]
Summary List Placement Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as hiring picked up amid the reopening of the economy. New US jobless claims reached an unadjusted 547,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a jump to 610,000 claims that week. The reading marks a second straight […]
Summary List Placement If you’re fed up with the millennial narrative, I get it. It reads like a set of contradictions. Millennials can’t afford homes, according to one headline, while another states that they’re busy snapping up homes during the pandemic. Millennials are finally getting rich, per one article, but a different piece tells of […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s invitation to testify at a Senate Finance subcommittee has been rejected by one of her outspoken critics, billionaire Leon Cooperman. On Monday, Warren invited Cooperman to testify at her hearing, called “Creating Opportunity Through a Fairer Tax System.” “This hearing is an opportunity to share your views on how […]
Summary List Placement The next part of the White House’s infrastructure package will focus on American families, with education, childcare, and paid leave all set to be major priorities. According to the Washington Post, the American Families Plan will allocate $225 billion towards paid family and medical leave. Now, 17 state treasurers are calling for […]
As part of the landmark CARES Act passed in 2020, Congress stipulated that mortgages in forbearance as a result of COVID-19 must be reported as “current” on credit reports. The legislation saved millions of homeowners from having their credit scores ruined during the most devastating year in recent U.S. history. But future risk still remains, […]
Summary List Placement Throughout the pandemic, researchers from Zhejiang University, University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame have tracked US poverty rates. In March 2021, pandemic-era poverty reached a new height. According to the researchers, the poverty rate reached a previous high in November 2020, when 8 million Americans fell into poverty over […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is staunchly opposed to lifting the gas tax and implementing user fees, the GOP’s preferred measures of financing infrastructure upgrades. “Hell no don’t raise them!” he told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “I got people that have to drive a long way to make a living. […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday that the US met his vaccination goal of 200 million shots in 100 days. And on Wednesday, he announced new plans to ensure every American employee can get a shot. A White House statement said that Biden is calling for every employer in America to […]
If you’re caught in the sights of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) — or if you’re hoping to avoid the regulator’s scrutiny altogether — here’s what you need to know in 2021. The regulator is no longer “taking it easy” on consumer financial services providers firms in light of the pandemic, said Jeffrey Naimon, […]
As a leader in the adoption, implementation and use of digital mortgages Camelia Martin’s breadth of experience has never been more relevant to the industry. A 2020 Woman of Influence, Martin joined Snapdocs earlier this year as Head of Industry and Regulatory Affairs. “Many lenders were not able to pivot as quickly as they would […]
Summary List Placement In the 11 months since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged across the country, scores of Republican-led states are attempting to crack down on protests by introducing what they call “anti-riot” legislation, The New York Times reported. GOP lawmakers in two of those states — Minnesota and Indiana — want to step […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Wednesday that due to “low usage” it is no longer extending expirations on certain temporary loan origination flexibilities for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulator is also advancing permanent changes to be made in the appraisal space. Temporary flexibilities related to employment verification, condominium project reviews, and expanded power […]
Summary List Placement New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the highest paid governor in US history, according to a report by Forbes, with a salary of $225,000. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the second-top paid current governor, earning nearly $210,000 in 2020. Cuomo and Newsom, both Democrats, have faced a series of scandals throughout 2020 […]
After six consecutive weeks of dips, mortgage applications rose 8.6% in the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The jump in applications can be traced to mortgage rates falling to the lowest level in two months, prompting a small resurgence in refinance activity, said Joel Kan, MBA associate vice president of economic and industry […]
Summary List Placement The US Department of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that it is extending a free school-lunch program for every K-12 student through spring 2022. “States and districts wanted waivers extended to plan for safe reopening in the fall,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “This action also increases the reimbursement rate […]
Summary List Placement When asked if corporations pay their fair share in federal taxes, two-thirds of respondents in a 2018 Gallup poll said they pay too little. In fact, Gallup found “the public consistently thinks that ‘upper-income people’ and corporations do not pay their fair share in federal taxes.” In recent months, one of the […]