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Housing Headlines

Housing Headlines

ECONOMIC NEWS

 

MarketWatch

Existing-home sales rise to a 10-year high in January despite higher rates, leaner supply

Sales of previously-owned homes hurtled to the highest in a decade in January, a sign of durable demand in the face of higher mortgage rates and leaner supply.

 

MarketWatch

New-home sales bounce back in January as housing demand bolsters market

Sales of newly-constructed homes rebounded in January as the housing market continues to move forward in fits and starts.

 

HousingWire

Freddie Mac: Market uncertainty disorients mortgage rates

Continuing its new pattern, the 30-year mortgage rate continues to stray from the Treasury yield amid rising market uncertainty.

 

The Washington Post

For millennials ready to buy a home, the pickings are slim

For years, millennials looked at owning a home as a distant fantasy. Student debt and a weak job market seemed to conspire to keep this generation stuck in their parents' basements, if not permanently locked out of the housing market.

 

Investor's Business Daily

Who's driving the housing recovery now? Small investors, study says

A growing number of small-but-nimble investors have captured a huge share of the housing market, says a new report, and they're now propelling the housing recovery by pushing "prices higher and more quickly than if the recovery had been driven more heavily by first-time homebuyers." That's not only making it tougher for those homebuyers to enter the market, says the white paper from Attom Data Solutions and Clear Capital, but it's also crimping investors' rates of return.

 

The New York Times

Some Fed officials support moving faster to raise interest rate

The American economy appears to be avoiding the kind of winter swoon that has become an annual event in recent years, a turn for the better that could encourage the Federal Reserve to start raising its benchmark interest rate sooner.

 

GSEs

 

HousingWire

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says expect GSE reform during Trump administration

U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat down Thursday for his first television interview since coming into his new position, where he explained what is on the economic agenda of this administration.

 

National Mortgage News

Fannie Mae's focus will not change with new administration, CEO says

The arrival of President Trump has not changed Fannie Mae's plans for 2017, especially its emphasis on automated loan validation and other customer-focused innovations, CEO Timothy Mayopoulos said Friday. (Subscription may be required.)

 

The Washington Post

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac shares plunge after court's ruling

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares plunged Tuesday after a federal appeals court denied legal claims by investors who were seeking to stop the U.S. government from seizing the profits of the mortgage giants.

 

MORTGAGE NEWS

 

The Washington Post

The mortgage market is now dominated by non-bank lenders

Most borrowers, whether they are purchasing property or refinancing their home, focus on their mortgage rate and loan terms rather than the type of lender they choose.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

The New York Times

The national death wish

A few weeks ago, Tom Cotton and David Perdue, Republican senators from Arkansas and Georgia, introduced an immigration bill that would cut the number of legal immigrants to this country each year in half, from about a million to about 500,000.

 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

 

The New York Times

How cities should take care of their housing problems

While President Trump talks repeatedly about fixing America's inner cities, it's a good bet that in the coming years, New York and other large metropolitan areas will need to be more self-reliant in solving pressing problems, especially low-income housing.

 

MULTIFAMILY

 

The Wall Street Journal

Banks retreat from apartment market

Swelling supplies of apartment units are prompting big banks to pull back from new projects, forcing developers to scramble for capital, in a sign that the U.S. apartment industry headed for a downturn. (Subscription may be required.)

 

FORECLOSURE NEWS

 

The New York Times

SolarCity's ties to foreclosure cases raise questions on vetting policies

SolarCity, the nation's leading installer of rooftop solar panels and a renewable energy darling, has pitched its value to investors on a simple premise: Once customers sign up to lease a system, they will make payments to the company month after month for at least 20 years.

 

EPA

 

The Washington Post

Pruitt to EPA employees: 'We don't have to choose' between jobs and the environment

In his first full work day as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt made clear Tuesday that he intends to step back from what he sees as the agency's regulatory overreach during the Obama administration.

 

CFPB

 

HousingWire

Hensarling compares CFPB to a tyranny

It's probably safe to say that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is no fan of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.