Mortgages

Mortgage applications decreased 0.8% from one week earlier as the latest spread of COVID-19 weighed on the minds of consumers looking to buy or refinance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

From guidelines for remote appraisal alternatives to the ways that forbearance affects borrowers' ability to get new loans, here are five examples of mortgage requirements that have been in flux since the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

With inventory tight and demand compounded by a nonexistent spring home-buying season, a fifth of all buyers waived inspection or appraisal contingencies to win bidding wars, according to Redfin.

The housing agency's prior permanent chief, Brian Montgomery, left the position after he was tapped to become deputy HUD secretary.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.

CEO Douglas Gordon credited the relationship between Waterstone Financial and the mortgage subsidiary for the boost in net income.

The key word is "temporary" with the FHA's quality control waiver expiring and not likely to be renewed.

The company's second-quarter net income was $116 million, with mortgage banking revenue of $239 million.

After receiving a third-party stamp of approval, Fannie Mae announced July 27 completing the latest two issuances of a single-family green mortgage backed security as part of an ongoing program that started in April and expands its long-time multi-family green MBS program.

The U.S. homeownership rate, led by young buyers, jumped to the highest since 2008, signaling that the housing boom underway before the pandemic has only accelerated.

Rocket Cos., the parent of the mortgage giant founded by billionaire Dan Gilbert, is seeking to raise as much as $3.3 billion in a U.S. initial public offering.

Miami-Dade and Broward experienced a dip in year-over-year residential transactions in June. But it's not all gloom and doom: Pending sales increased year-over-year, a sign of activity increasing since April.

Is a surge of wealthy out-of-state homebuyers fueling a drastic increase in home prices in Missoula and western Montana?

A likely weathervane for how single-family rentals are being affected by the pandemic, the $826.2 million securitization by FirstKey Homes is ultimately secured by income stemming from home rentals located in current COVID-19 hotspots including Florida and Arizona.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance dropped for the sixth consecutive week, as the growth rate fell 6 basis points between July 13 and July 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Tight inventory is expected to drive home prices higher over the summer, according to First American.

Optimal Blue is being combined with Compass Analytics.

Whalen: "It is tempting to think that low interest rates will cure all ills in the housing sector, but this view is seriously in error, as we learned in 2008."

The Southern California housing market is showing signs of heating up following a coronavirus-induced slump.

After steep year-over-year declines in home sales in April and May, Tampa Bay's housing market showed signs of a strong rebound in June from pandemic-induced sluggishness, according to new figures released by Florida Realtors.