Mortgages

Indicators are starting to align, that with falling interest rates and prices, buyers and sellers will return to the housing market in 2024, a trio of interested parties commented.

Activity fell despite an ongoing slide in rates, but elevated interest in VA loans, particularly refinances, managed to lift the government-sponsored index higher by a fraction, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Contract closings increased 0.8% from a month earlier to a 3.82 million annualized rate, according to the National Association of Realtors, and ahead of estimates of 3.78 million units.

Industry leaders share their thoughts on some of the forecasts that fizzled.

Over 200 employees will be let go as of Feb. 16, 2024, according to an Illinois WARN notice.

The outstanding amount that people ages 62 and up hold represented a nearly $15.4 billion gain in property value offset by a record $2.32 billion in borrowing.

Loans for new homes are up 22% while overall purchase volume is down 20%, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

Construction of single-family houses jumped 18% to the highest level since April 2022, while starts of multifamily projects increased 6.9%.

Relying on hope, as implied in the "survive until '25" slogan, is not a business strategy that will get a company through the year.

The lawsuit accuses Navy Federal of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act after a CNN report that the lender approved a lower percentage of Black and Latino mortgage applicants.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is appealing a lower court ruling that the agency exceeded its authority in bringing an anti-discrimination enforcement action against a Chicago mortgage lender after he made disparaging remarks about Blacks and Hispanics.

Both past and present customers were impacted by the data breach.

Lawyers for the plaintiff maintain the companies should have been on notice of inadequate security measures after a reported data breach in 2022.

A cyber attack in late 2021 affected over 4 million consumers across three companies.

The report showed the gauge of prospective buyer traffic also climbed for the first time in five months, while a measure of expected sales reached a three-month high.

The enterprise is now calling for a recession to start in the second quarter of next year, with negative growth expected for the full year.

The warning follows a period in which its stock traded below a certain threshold. The company can stay listed and plans to ask for time to regain compliance.

The upcoming election exposes the Federal Reserve to heightened criticism for its actions, said Brookings Institution senior fellow Sarah Binder.

The American Land Title Association pushed back against the move to allow attorney opinion letters in the financing of condo units and certain other properties.

Trigger leads may take a back seat to other priorities near term but growing support in both chambers for these types of bills suggests the issue has momentum.