(One of a continuing series of profiles of participants in the MBA Education Path to Diversity (P2D) Scholarship Program, which enables employees from diverse backgrounds to advance their professional growth and career development.)
Category: News and Trends
MBA Advocacy Update
As Congress returned to begin working on the preliminary contours of another COVID-19 relief and response package, the Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed its 2021 housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, specifying both the single-family and multifamily mortgage purchase benchmarks for low-income borrowers or borrowers residing in low-income areas.
Steven Octaviano: Today’s Innovation Opportunity–And Why Lenders Must Embrace It
The technologies behind these changes have been with us for some time, but it took a crisis of mammoth proportions to accelerate adoption. Yet there are other areas of the mortgage business still sorely in need of innovation. And if lenders hope to remain competitive and thrive when the smoke from the pandemic clears, they need to be embracing these innovations today.
Home Sellers’ Asking Prices Up 13% from Last Year as Demand Keeps Soaring
Redfin, Seattle, said listing prices of homes for sale nationally jumped by 13% to a record-high $328,500 during the four-week period ending July 12.
MISMO Releases Proposed Commercial Appraisal Data Standards
MISMO®, the mortgage industry standards organization, today released new proposed data standards for commercial property appraisals. The new dataset will facilitate efficient exchange of appraisal information across the commercial real estate finance industry.
New Home Sales Post 2nd Consecutive Strong Monthly Increase
New home sales beat expectations again in June, HUD and the Census Bureau reported Friday, posting double-digit increases for the second straight month.
MBA Chart of the Week: Ratio of Unemployed Workers Per Job Opening
This week’s MBA Chart of the Week uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to look at the ratio of the number of unemployed workers to job openings to highlight how the current recession is different than the recession in 2007-2009.
The Week Ahead
The Federal Open Market Committee holds its next Policy Meeting this Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29. While Fed-watchers don’t expect the FOMC to take action on the federal funds rate—it’s already at zero—they will, as usual, go over the Wednesday statement with a fine-toothed editing pencil to gain insight on other steps to boost an uncertain economy amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Dealmaker: JLL Arranges $51 Million for Data Center, Retail
JLL Capital Markets arranged $51.5 million in financing for a Massachusetts data center and retail centers in Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chris Lewis: 3 Steps You Should Take Now to Get Ready for RON
Many of the industry’s efficiency experts have long argued that a digital mortgage can save all parties time and money. In the past, however, there were too many downstream issues that blocked the process from full-scale adoption. But with shelter in place, safer at home and social distancing all coming into play, the pandemic has led to a renewed push to get a completely digital mortgage as the new way to close all your loans.