Coronavirus

Unemployment is high. Credit is tight. And scientists are warning that a dangerous second wave of the coronavirus is coming. But somehow, U.S. mortgage companies are having one of their best years in history.

Homebuilder sentiment improved in June as record-low interest rates and demand for more space spurred buyers to re-emerge after the coronavirus shut down sales and construction.

The REIT will add $500 million in capital through a senior secured loan, and it received a $1.65 billion term facility.

Shelter-in-place orders have given homeowners the time to pursue upgrades and repairs, and banks are seizing the opportunity to help finance the projects.

During a seven-day period earlier this month, there were 1,740 new home listings and 270 listings coming back on the market, and 2,065 pending sales, according to the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency was supposed to finalize its original proposal this month, but will redraft it because it was drawn up before the coronavirus emerged as a concern.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance ground down to a growth rate of 2 basis points between June 1 and June 7, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A Clever Real Estate survey found a significant share of new borrowers are not making their full payment.

Albuquerque, N.M., home prices continue to outpace last year's figures, but there's reason to think the summer home-buying season might be quieter than anticipated.

The widespread protests that have followed George Floyd's death are, in part, a response to long-standing inequities in the Black community that the coronavirus has only exacerbated. Here's how Donnell Williams, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, thinks the mortgage market can respond.

But deal sponsors are primarily restricting property assets to the lower risk multifamily and office buildings that lenders are more confident will weather the economic strains brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic brought more attention to the affordable housing issue and illuminated already vulnerable, low-income populations.

Home sales in the Baltimore area plummeted in May, the steepest drop in a decade amid the pandemic, but record-low mortgage rates are pushing buyers into the housing market.

Borrowers gained over $6 trillion in home equity since the Great Recession ended and the relative health of the housing market should stave off a coronavirus-induced collapse, according to CoreLogic.

The measures extended by the Federal Housing Finance Agency include alternative methods used for certain appraisals and for verification of employment.

The expected rise in refinance volume overrides pessimism about purchase activity for their businesses.

Home sales in the San Antonio area plunged 20% in May, the market's worst stretch since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lenders are cautioning not only that second-quarter provisions might exceed the spike seen earlier this year, but also that credit costs could be elevated into 2021 if the economic slowdown drags on or fears of a second coronavirus wave are borne out.

As revenue-starved retailers fall further behind on rent payments, landlords' cash flow will be strained, and defaults on commercial real estate loans could rise.

The Federal Housing Administration's move to insure loans with forbearance could help support homeownership opportunities constrained by the coronavirus if one change was made to it, trade groups said.