Economy

In a study of four metro areas, housing supply and demand gained momentum in the second half of April, even where the COVID-19 curve continued to grow.

Hiring by nonbank mortgage and brokers held up unusually well through the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in March, but April's all-time high in unemployment suggests that's unlikely to last.

The history of riskier lending over the last half century can offer lessons for today's market.

Many originators stopped making riskier products, including jumbo loans and low credit score offerings, during April.

Consumer sentiment for home buying fell to its lowest point since November 2011, according to Fannie Mae.

The government-sponsored enterprises have set new temporary limits on mortgage sales while extending processing flexibilities related to COVID-19.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are backing the first commercial mortgage-backed securities activity in two months, through two deals that exclude hotel or department store retail assets that are most exposed to pandemic-related stresses.

The other parts of the Day 1 Certainty program regarding income and asset verifications remain in effect.

Some benefits are materializing from Fannie Mae's pledge to limit servicers' exposure to principal-and-interest advances the way Freddie Mac does, but counterparties of both GSEs remain exposed to other concerns.

Guild Mortgage's presence in Washington state, the epicenter of the first U.S. outbreak, gave it an early glimpse of the obstacles ahead.