Market Trends

Rob Nunziata of ActiveComply discusses how the mortgage industry was impacted by the pandemic, the liabilities that a work-from-home staff bring, and how home lenders and servicers are managing this risk.

Not since spring of 2002 have fixed-rate mortgages been as high as they were reported this week, and when combined with mortgage app volume sliding for the fourth straight week, affordability headwinds continue to impact housing demand.

Overall housing inventory dropped 15% year-over-year in June, remaining at an all-time low. A new market report from Redfin revealed that homebuyers are turning to new builds as many homeowners continue clinging to their low existing mortgage rates, contributing to the ongoing lack of supply.

“U.S. housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.452 million, which is 3.9% above the downward revised June estimate of 1.398 million and is 5.9% above the July 2022 rate of 1.371 million,” First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said.

As the Fall semester nears, the latest National Student Housing Report from Yardi Matrix revealed student housing preleasing neared a record high in July, with rent growth significantly ahead of last year.

Matt Stepanovich of SingleSource Property Solutions discusses big data’s role in standardizing property valuations and the future of appraisal modernization.

“Applications for purchase loans on newly constructed homes remained strong in July, up 36% annually, as new homes continued to account for a growing share of homes available for sale,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist.

A new report from LendingTree reveals that Black homebuyers are still more likely to be denied a mortgage when compared to the overall population, with denial rates highest in popular metros like Miami, Detroit, and New Orleans.

Typically, teachers can only afford a few homes near their home school, a number which keeps dwindling as time goes on, according to the latest data from Redfin.

As workforces are cut, the use of technology to automate specific workflows can be beneficial, while establishing a playbook for when it’s time to go back on the offense.