Home Sellers Hold Upper Hand

Zillow, Seattle, said sellers expanded their advantage in July as market forces continued to work in their favor.

Office Outlook ‘Opaque’

Reonomy, New York, said the office sector has avoided the worst of the recession, largely due to underlying characteristics including tenant diversification and longer-term leases. But it called the sector’s outlook “opaque.”

MBA Chart of the Week: Mortgage Delinquency Rates

MBA released its National Delinquency Survey results for the second quarter last week. Key findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on some homeowners’ ability to make their mortgage payments could not be more apparent.

Top 10 Ways to Engage with MBA CREF

It’s that time of year again. The annual renewal invoices for your trade association memberships arrive. You think about how you leveraged memberships over the past year but it’s likely that your company could have done more to get the most out of it. Here are a few suggestions on how commercial/multifamily members can effectively leverage Mortgage Bankers Association resources to get the most benefit from your firm’s membership.

MBA Advocacy Update Aug. 24, 2020

MBA continued its advocacy on the GSEs’ recently-announced adverse market fee, urging the agencies and their regulator to withdraw the proposal and engage stakeholders on the following: the rationale behind the imposition of the 50 basis point fee; ways to ensure consumer impacts are mitigated; and, the need to respect existing market commitments between lenders and consumers.

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“July’s surge in existing home sales reflects some catch-up for sales lost during the spring selling season, when the economy was largely shut down, as well as a shift in preferences away from long-term renting toward homeownership. Sales are not likely to rise another 25% next month but will remain strong as long as employment conditions for middle- and upper-income households continue to improve.”
–Mark Vitner, Senior Economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.