In this edition of To the Point with Bob, MBA President & CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, says while the Community Reinvestment Act serves an important policy objective, it is inappropriate to apply it to independent mortgage banks.
Category: News and Trends
Sublease Space Weighing Office Market Down
Office vacancy rates have risen significantly since the pandemic hit. Yardi Matrix, Santa Barbara, Calif., reported one big reason for the spike: nearly every market has seen sublease space available jump.
Dealmaker: Hines Global Income Trust Acquires D.C. Office Asset for $216M
Hines Global Income Trust, Houston, acquired 1015 Half Street, a 396,000-square-foot Class A office asset in Washington, D.C.
One-Third of Millennial Homebuyers Using Extra Savings from Pandemic for Down Payment
For nearly one-third (31%) of millennial first-time homebuyers, the ability to save extra money during the coronavirus pandemic helped them accumulate the money needed for a down payment, said Redfin, Seattle.
2nd Quarter ‘Zombie’ Foreclosures Up 21%
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., released its second-quarter Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, showing 1.4 million residential properties in the United States were vacant in the second quarter quarter, representing 1.4 percent of all homes.
ICE: Time to Close Falls 4th Straight Month
ICE Mortgage Technology, Pleasanton, Calif., issued its Origination Insight Report for April, showing average time to close on all loans fell for the fourth consecutive month to 51 days.
Industry Briefs May 27, 2021
Enact Holdings Inc., Raleigh, N.C., a provider of private mortgage insurance through its insurance subsidiaries, introduced its new brand and visual identity. Formerly known as Genworth Mortgage Holdings Inc., Enact is a wholly owned operating subsidiary of Genworth Financial Inc.
(The New Normal) Larry Silver: The Future of Mortgage Professionals Reimagined for a Hybrid Workplace
Working from home proved liberating for many people, either because they got more work done or they gained a better work-life balance. At this point, we can’t just put the genie back in the bottle. So, how will the mortgage industry manage the shift back to the office, or will they? Now that our face-to-face meeting-driven, paper-intensive industry has been thrust into the future, does it make sense to return to the past?
MBA Weekly Applications Survey May 26, 2021: Purchase Apps Up; Refis Down
Purchase applications rose, but a sharp drop in refinance applications led to an overall drop in mortgage applications last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 21.
Quote
“Rising prices mean a lot of buyers will need to make compromises to avoid going beyond their financial comfort zone. A buyer who was hoping for a single-family home may need to settle for a condo, and someone who was hoping for a separate home office may have to get creative and carve out part of the living room for a desk.”
–Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.