Origination

Home sales in Chattanooga, Tenn., fell nearly 18% last month and the inventory of houses on the market fell by more than 26% as home-bound Chattanoogans were less likely to want to either buy or sell their homes during the worst of the coronavirus shutdowns in April.

New housing activity in Connecticut took a precipitous decline last month, with the number of permits issued around the state down 65.4% from April 2019, according to the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Mortgage applications increased 2.7% from one week earlier, as purchase volume is now outpacing the prior year's activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Forecasts about the pandemic's impact on the mortgage market have grown less dire after forbearance requests by homeowners nearly leveled off in the first half of May.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have relaunched existing websites to provide COVID-19 tools to borrowers and servicers.

Some cities saw drops in annual housing supply nearing 40% in early May, according to Zillow.

The ripple effect of buying, spending can drive small businesses back to success.

New-home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in April after swooning a month earlier, suggesting the housing market is starting to stabilize.

Home sales in South Florida plummeted in April. Realtors blame the health and economic fears wrought by the pandemic caused.

Homebuilders were a rare, bright spot in an otherwise dreary April for Southern California's housing market.