Origination

Housing experts and advocates disagree on the biggest factor in advancing the Black homeownership rate — and that's part of the problem.

Storm-related reconstruction costs — a large share of which may be concentrated in the New York City area — are estimated to total $1.9 trillion for water damage and $8.5 trillion for wind damage.

Housing value growth in April hit a 15-year high as the inventory squeeze created gridlock between baby boomer sellers and millennial buyers, according to CoreLogic.

The funding requests break sharply with the Trump administration's calls to eliminate key housing funds and backing for community development financial institutions. The White House also wants to substantially increase the budgets of the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration.

Also: Cloudvirga merges with Stewart Information Services, home price growth makes loans risky and rates dip again.

The increasing regulatory costs may give the Biden administration reason to encourage the rollback of some zoning restrictions that hamper construction.

This is the multi-hyphenate company’s sixth deal since the start of 2020 — a series of acquisitions in a variety of sectors within the industry, ranging from analytics to artificial intelligence.

The steady pace of refinance activity has also continued, as borrowers seek to take advantage of sub-3% rates.

Nonprofits connecting Historically Black Colleges and Universities to mortgage career education courses seek to increase the number of Black professionals in the field, who in turn may help to increase homeownership among underserved populations.

Average days to close dropped closer to pre-pandemic levels in April, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.