U.S. employers added 431,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, while the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent.
Category: News and Trends
MBA Chart of the Week Apr. 1 2022: MBA Purchase Applications Payment Index
On March 24, MBA released its inaugural, monthly Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) – an affordability index that measures how new fixed-rate 30-year purchase mortgage payments vary across time relative to income.
MBA Launches All-New MBA.org
The Mortgage Bankers Association this morning has a new, improved website.
The Week Ahead, Apr. 4, 2022: 6 Things to Know
Good morning and happy Monday! Here’s what’s happening in the real estate finance world this week:
Industry Briefs Apr. 4, 2022: Homebridge Launches ‘Our Community’
Homebridge Financial Services Inc., Iselin, N.J., launched its “Our Community” hub on the company’s website. This resource provides a new level of transparency about Homebridge’s current diversity and inclusion internal workforce efforts and measures progress.
Quote
“Only 10% of workers reported teleworking due to the pandemic in March, down from 13% in February and less than half the level from its peak. As the federal government and others return to work in April, this number should drop sharply, which may well lead to further job changes in retail, professional services, and other sectors that are dependent on in-person work. This is good news for commercial real estate lenders and investors.”
–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.
Mark P. Dangelo: Digital Transformation’s Hidden and Growing Corporate Liabilities
Digital transformation efforts are institutionalizing risks. While the past decade concentrated on understanding and leveraging “big data”, the next frontier of regulatory compliance and customer advocacy resides beyond the original digitized data—digital inferences and their (automated) conclusions.
Michael Rappaport of Homespire Mortgage: Prevailing Winds–3 Predictions for the Year Ahead
Based on current data and trends, here are three predictions for the industry’s landscape as we move further into 2022.
Jack Huntress of HomeBinder: Equity Building is Key to Homeowners’ Hearts
In response to their dwindling refinance volume, mortgage lenders have begun recalibrating their outreach strategies to capture the shift toward purchase and home-equity demand. In this market, lenders with a finely tuned formula for nurturing repeat customers will succeed where others flounder.
CMBS Delinquency Rate, Liquidations Drop
The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate continues to decline, and CMBS liquidations also dropped last year, analysts said.