Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2020–Kate McLaughlin (subscription)Luxury real-estate developers are rethinking living spaces, staircases and even ventilation systems amid the coronavirus pandemic.https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-buildings-will-look-like-after-the-covid-crisis-11596040879?mod=hp_featst_pos4
Category: Top National News
Purchase Fraud Risk Hits Highest Point in a Year
National Mortgage News, July 29, 2020–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Even as mortgage loan application defect risk returned to record-low levels in June driven by the refinance boom, fraud risk for purchases is …
Lower Weekly Mortgage Demand Hints at a Possible Pullback by First-Time Homebuyers
CNBC, July 29, 2020–Diana OlickWith mortgage interest rates hovering near a record low, mortgage demand, especially from homebuyers, is now significantly higher than a year ago, but there are warning …
Ex-Fed Economist Says Her Profession Is Racist, Sexist, Elitist
Bloomberg, July 29, 2020–Michelle JamriskoClaudia Sahm, a former senior Federal Reserve economist, levied a broad critique of her profession Wednesday, saying that racism, sexism and elitism have led to toxic …
New Legislation Would Aid Cash-Strapped Commercial Property Owners
Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2020–Ben Eisen (subscription)The bill, expected Wednesday, would set up a government-backed funding vehicle businesses could tap to stay current on their mortgages. It is meant …
Will GOP Plan to Slash Unemployment Trigger Wave of Loan Defaults?
American Banker, July 28, 2020–Neil Haggerty, Hannah Lang (subscription)“It is something we’ve been concerned about,” said Bill Kilmer, senior vice president for legislative and political affairs at the Mortgage Bankers …
The Homeownership Rate Jumps to the Highest Level Since 2008–But Looks Could be Deceiving
MarketWatch, July 28, 2020–Jacob PassyThe U.S. homeownership rate soared to the highest level since 2008 in the second quarter (67.9%), even as the coronavirus pandemic led to record levels of …
Mortgage Complaints Down During Pandemic
National Mortgage Professional, July 28, 2020–Keith GriffinNew research from LendEDU shows consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are down 4% year-over-year. That stands in stark contrast to credit …
Quicken Loans Hopes to Raise as Much as $3.8 Billion from IPO
Detroit Free Press, July 28, 2020–JC Reindl, Susan TomporThe Detroit-based mortgage giant, which is rebranding itself as Rocket Companies, disclosed Tuesday that it is offering 150 million shares to the …
Flagstar Bancorp Logs the Best Quarterly Earnings in Its History
National Mortgage News, July 28, 2020–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The company’s second-quarter net income was $116 million, with mortgage banking revenue of $239 million.https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/flagstar-bancorp-logs-the-best-quarterly-earnings-in-its-history