Author: Lending Agent
The Trump administration plans to fire almost all the staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and essentially shut down the agency, federal employees alleged in a court filing this month. On Feb. 8, the National Treasury Employees Union filed suit against acting director Russell Vought in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to stop Vought from gutting and closing the bureau. Vought was appointed acting director on Feb. 7 and immediately issued directives for the bureau to cease operations. CFPB has also been reportedly targeted to be wound down by the U.S. DOGE service, led by billionaire Elon…
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This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We may also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. The technical storage or access is necessary…
In a move that has stirred discussions across the housing and finance sectors, President Donald Trump has nominated Bill Pulte as the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The agency oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that play a pivotal role in the U.S. mortgage market. Given Pulte’s background in private equity and his family’s deep roots in homebuilding, this nomination raises some intriguing questions about the future of the mortgage industry.The Homebuilders’ Takeover?The immediate reaction from industry analysts to Pulte’s nomination was predictable: the homebuilders are now running the mortgage industry.…
Stop the presses! Mortgage rates actually moved HIGHER today! While it’s the first time we’ve been able to say such things since last Tuesday, the damage is almost imperceptible. In fact, if we compare today’s rates to yesterday morning’s they’re identical to slightly lower. Today’s rates are only worse when compared to the slightly lower rates seen after yesterday’s mid-day improvements. In general, lenders prefer to set mortgage rates once per day and hope the underlying bond market doesn’t move enough to force a mid day reprice (a positive or negative adjustment). The bigger the bond market move, the more…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped at least four enforcement lawsuits, including cases against a division of Rocket Mortgage and one of the nation’s largest manufactured home lenders. The CFPB dismissed with prejudice cases against Rocket Homes Real Estate, Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance, Capital One and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, according to multiple national news reports Wednesday. The moves reverse actions taken in the waning days of the Biden Administration under then Director Rohit Chopra, who was fired by President Donald Trump on Feb. 1. Jonathan McKernan, a former member of the FDIC board, has…
Why is it so hard to buy a home? Prices have far outpaced middle-class incomes. Mortgage rates are above 7% for the first time since 2002. And 3 out of 10 homes are sold above listing price.But none of those factors fully captures the variety of challenges buyers nationwide face in the current market. The conditions on the ground can vary widely across state and even county lines.To better capture how housing market conditions shift at the local level — as comprehensively and in as close to real time as possible — we’re introducing a new monthly gauge: the NBC News…
High mortgage rates and elevated home prices combined to crush home sales in January.Pending sales, which are based on signed contracts for existing homes, dropped 4.6% from December to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001. Sales were down 5.2% from January 2024. These sales are an indicator of future closings.“It is unclear if the coldest January in 25 years contributed to fewer buyers in the market, and if so, expect greater sales activity in upcoming months,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “However, it’s evident that elevated home prices and higher…
“For Sale” and “Sale Pending” signs in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, US, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release existing homes sales figures on June 21. David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesHigh mortgage rates and elevated home prices combined to crush home sales in January.Pending sales, which are based on signed contracts for existing homes, dropped 4.6% from December to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001. Sales were down 5.2% from January 2024. These sales are an indicator of future closings.”It…
Mortgage rates are directly connected to the bond market, and bonds can seemingly do no wrong over the past week. Specifically, demand for bonds has been strong and steady. Higher demand begets higher prices and, when it comes to bonds, higher prices result in lower rates. On several occasions since last Friday, we’ve seen obvious examples of investors moving money out of stocks and into bonds. The risk there is that bonds/rates would bounce back in the other direction if stocks manage to do the same. But so far, the moderate attempts at recovery in the stock market have not spilled…