HousingWire, May 2, 2016–Swanson, BrenaAccording to the 2016-Q1 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released by the Texas Association of Realtors, housing inventory fell to a record low 2.8 months, a decline of 0.6 months from first quarter 2015.
Category: Top National News
U.S. Manufacturing Shows Signs of Stability as Export Orders Rise
Reuters, May 2, 2016–Mutikani, Lucia
U.S. factory activity expanded at a more moderate pace in April due in part to a slowdown in new orders, but a rise in export orders to a near 1-1/2-year high and signs an inventory overhang drag was fading offered hope for the manufacturing sector.
U.S. Construction Spending up 0.3 Pct., Led by Home Building
Associated Press, May 2, 2016–Crutsinger, Martin
U.S. construction spending advanced in March to its highest level in more than eight years. Gains in home building and nonresidential construction offset a drop in government projects.
BofA Says It Settled Seattle Bank Mortgage Suit for $190 Million
Bloomberg, May 2, 2016–Keller, Laura J.
Bank of America Corp. said it reached a $190 million agreement to resolve a six-year-old legal claim from Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle over mortgage-backed securities sold before the financial crisis.
New Fed Bailout Prevention Rule to Reach Beyond Banks
Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2016–Tracy, Ryan; Burne, Katy
Asset managers such as Pacific Investment Management Co. look set to lose hard-fought protections against the cost of a bank failure, when the Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposes yet another rule aimed at preventing taxpayer bailouts for financial firms.
New York’s Fairway Supermarket Files for Bankruptcy
Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2016–Yung, Chester
New York supermarket chain Fairway Group Holdings Corp. said late Monday it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, months after warning of the possibility of breaching its loan agreement.
The Bank of China Takes Manhattan
Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2016–Cui, Carolyn; Huang, Daniel
Bank of China is preparing to move its U.S. headquarters this fall to a new 450-foot-tall glass tower overlooking Bryant Park, leaving the low-slung brick building on New York City’s East Side that has been its home for 35 years.
An Add-On Aimed at Coaxing More Millennials into Mortgages
National Mortgage News, May 2, 2016–Stewart, Jackie
Amalgamated Bank in New York has started offering down payment insurance to homebuyers in a move it hopes will set it apart with highly mobile millennial borrowers.
Deadline Approaching for FHA’s Electronic Appraisal Delivery Portal
HousingWire, May 2, 2016–Ramirez, Kelsey
Beginning June 27, mortgages will be required to use a new web-based Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal, according to a release by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
California Loss-Mitigation Bill Creates More Problems than It Solves
HousingWire, Apr. 29, 2016–Finlay, Robert
California continues its effort to pass a law that would require loan servicers to work with successor’s to borrowers on loss mitigation options. The same effort failed last year. The California Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry groups pointed out numerous problems they said would cause harm for borrowers, lenders and the housing market.