The Lede

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, which normally comes out Wednesday morning, will be delayed until this Thursday, July 6 because of the Tuesday Independence Day holiday, which altered normal data collection deadlines.

Scotsman Guide, July 3, 2017--Victor WhitmanThe Mortgage Bankers Association envisions turning Fannie and Freddie into utilities and chartering other companies to compete against them. MBA President and CEO David Stevens said the trade group's plan was developed with input from its small lenders, and their proposal protects them.

Wall Street Journal, July 4, 2017--Peter Grant (subscription)The pace of office-space leasing slowed in the second quarter, mostly because of sluggish activity in the country's top five markets, according to new figures from data firm Reis Inc.

Wall Street Journal, July 4, 2017--Dana Mattioli (subscription)Monogram Residential Trust Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to be acquired by Greystar Growth and Income Fund LP, an investment group led by Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, in a deal valued at $2 billion.

National Mortgage News, July 3, 2017--Brad Finkelstein, Brian Collins (subscription)The Trump administration's Justice Department was expected to be less aggressive in its pursuit of False Claims Act cases against the mortgage industry. Instead, its focus has shifted to Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgages.

Reuters, July 3, 2017The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its index of national factory activity rose to a reading of 57.8 last month, its best performance since August 2014.

Dow Jones Newswire, July 4, 2017--Esther FungThe delinquency rate for securitized commercial real-estate loans jumped 28 basis points to 5.75% in June from May, the biggest month-over-month increase since March 2012 and up sharply from the 4.6% recorded in June last year, according to real estate provider Trepp Inc.

NPR, July 4, 2017--Chris ArnoldInterest rates are near historic lows and consumer confidence is high, but the market isn't booming. One reason may be mobility: people moving from state to state is half what it was two decades ago.

Mortgage Daily, July 3, 2017Monthly issuance at the three federally controlled housing finance agencies turned solidly higher from the prior month, though there was a year-over-year decline.

Mortgage Daily, July 3, 2017--Sam GarciaA number of recent management appointments at real estate finance firms included several mid-level executives filling regional positions.

Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2017--Nick Timiraos (subscription)Federal Reserve officials have indicated there is a strong chance they will announce in September a decision to start shrinking the central bank's portfolio of bonds and other assets, while putting off until December any further interest-rate increase.