The Lede

Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2016--Timiraos, Nick The housing market has recovered, but sluggish entry-level construction is putting a squeeze on families that would like to buy their first home. A new report pins the blame on City Hall.

L.A. Times, May 5, 2016--Valhouli, Constantine While many Los Angeles neighborhoods seem out of reach based on price averages, those numbers don't tell the whole story. The range of prices can vary significantly, meaning affordable properties are available in areas where many might never think to look.

MarketWatch, May 5, 2016--Riquier, Andrea Fannie Mae CEO Fannie CEO Tim Mayopoulos called it "not sustainable" to operate without capital just after his company reported a $1.14 billion profit in the first three months of the year, the 17th consecutive quarter of profitability.

Gizmodo, May 6, 2016--Walker, Alissa Thanks to the generation's size and influence, millennials are moving to new places made just for them, by them-revitalizing smaller cities or opting for hybridized urban-burb enclaves where quality of life is the driving force.

Associated Press, May 5, 2016--Gordon, Marcy Mortgage giant Fannie Mae posted net income of $1.1 billion for the first quarter, down from a year ago as declining interest rates reduced the value of the financial instruments it uses to hedge against rate swings.

National Mortgage News, May 5, 2016--Passy, Jacob Lending standards tightened once again in April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Washington Post, May 5, 2016--Orton, Kathy After wandering higher for the past two weeks, mortgage rates reversed course, pulling back to near yearly lows.

Washington Post, May 5, 2016--Marte, Jonnelle For years, consumers wanting to open a credit card or use almost any kind of financial product have often had to give up their right to sue the company - usually as a condition of doing business. But new rules proposed Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could change that.

Associated Press, May 5, 2016 Soaring expenses are squeezing profits for nonbank lenders, which have grown to almost half of the mortgage market, as new rules and stepped-up regulatory scrutiny slice into already-thin margins. The average cost to originate a home loan jumped by 18 percent in the past two years, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.

National Mortgage Professional, May 5, 2016--Hall, Phil The latest numbers from the leading housing market data sources reveal a market that has seen better days, although glimmers sunlight could be detected.

Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2016--McLaughlin, Katy A hot housing market is driving buyers to pay exorbitant sums for old, frumpy houses, knowing they'll pay plenty more to remake them to modern tastes. Others currently own dowdy houses and choose to renovate rather than relocate.

HousingWire, May 5, 2016--Gaffney, Jacob For all the calls to reduce the roles Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in the mortgage finance world, Timothy Mayopoulos shared this point: Private capital is "unwilling to step in" to replace the government-sponsored enterprises as mortgage finance leaders in the secondary market.

Reuters, May 5, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, posting the biggest gain in more than a year, but the underlying trend continued to point to a strengthening labor market.

Associated Press, May 5, 2016 The Montana Supreme Court has upheld $426,000 in damages and attorney's fees awarded to a couple who sued a loan servicing company alleging it violated federal and state laws in repeatedly trying to foreclose on their house.

Bloomberg, May 5, 2016--Barinka, Alex; Basak, Sonali American International Group Inc.'s mortgage insurer, United Guaranty Corp., is seeking to raise about $700 million to $800 million as it sells shares to the public.

Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2016--Morath, Eric The Labor Department will release its broad snapshot of the jobs market on Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast the report to show employers added a seasonally adjusted 205,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate held steady at 5%.