Industries

Heightened worries about the strength of consumers and the global economy have been put on hold — at least for now — after some of the world's best known companies delivered a slew of better-than expected numbers.

An index tracking the industry is up 28% so far this year coming off of one of its worst years since 2018.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose for a fourth month in April as limited resale inventory helped drive demand for new houses, suggesting the residential real estate market is slowly recovering.

Banks could be in for a long, slow trickle of bank failures and consolidation in the coming months and years, particularly if inflation persists and interest rates keep rising. A downturn in commercial real estate could add to banks' problems.

But a monthly increase in housing costs nationwide to start 2023 may point to a bottoming out of prices in many areas, CoreLogic said.

Residential starts rose 9.8% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate, the fastest in five months, according to government data released Thursday

The Federal Home Loan Banks claim that liquidity in-and-of-itself supports affordable housing, while the Federal Housing Finance Agency seems to think the mission should be more directly tethered to housing.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg said that the rise of hybrid and remote work, alongside rising interest rates, could be creating lingering risk in the maturity of some bank loans.

The CFPB is requesting input on adding specifications that are intended to alleviate TRID compliance concerns on construction-to-permanent single-close loans and those requiring separate construction and home loan closings.

The deal would put housing data provided by the acquiring intelligence provider in front of lenders early in the mortgage borrowing process.

The publishing company controlled by the Murdoch family had been in talks to sell the parent of Realtor.com and other real estate-related websites for about $3 billion. 

Federal Home Loan banks aren't doing enough to address the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S., FHFA Director Sandra Thompson says. Some of their members are instead using advances to manage liquidity and perhaps engaging in crypto-related and other activities that put the Deposit Insurance Fund at risk, she says.

The cut occurred across departments and included the dismissal of the company's head of mortgage.

New York, Chicago and Philadelphia led the list of large metropolitan markets considered vulnerable to a downturn, based on analysis from Attom.

The homeownership gap between Black and white populations has widened in the years since the Great Recession, putting obstacles in the way of achieving wealth for a large percentage of Americans. How did we get here, and what do the housing and home lending industries need to do to change the current course?

A group of House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle is pushing to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit as the supply of affordable housing remains tight.

A heated panel discussion sponsored by the Federal Housing Finance Agency raised questions about the funding, structure and mission of the Home Loan banks.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's tangible capital rule could prevent some banks from accessing advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system in a rising interest rate environment.

The agency is currently using upper ceilings set in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.