Contracts, Invoices & Legal

While overall investor purchase activity is returning to pre-pandemic norms, interest in condo units dropped to a 10-year low, as insurance and fees surged. View the full article

Pent-up demand and the rapid pace of home appreciation is fueling the ongoing rise in home prices, even as mortgage rates present obstacles for buyers. View the full article

In its latest financial stability report, the Federal Reserve found that asset prices continue to exceed underlying fundamentals and leverage levels remain high, especially by hedge funds. View the full article

Buyers face decreased return on investment as home prices and rates remained at challenging levels while economic uncertainty clouded the outlook, Redfin said. View the full article

The National Flood Insurance Program, estimated to cover over 4 million homeowners, is set to lapse next Friday along with the federal budget. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman, one of the central bank's more inflation-wary officials, said the balance of risks for monetary policymaking could soon shift. View the full article

Sales of previously owned US homes fell in March by the most since 2022 as buyers remained constrained by high mortgage rates and prices. View the full article

Even with various tariff pauses and exemptions, suppliers are raising prices due to ongoing policy uncertainty, and consumers also are altering their behavior. View the full article

Industry experts with a reputation for making strong bets offer some picks and predictions for mortgage investment in a volatile market. View the full article

The Sunshine State deal comes following a banner year for credit union-bank combinations, despite pushback from community banking advocates. View the full article

The Federal Reserve governor voted against the decision to slow the pace of balance sheet reduction earlier this week, preferring to allow the current pace of reduction. View the full article

Even with 4,000 public sector cuts, total employment numbers were surprisingly high, which raises questions about whether financing costs will keep falling. View the full article

US mortgage rates jumped last week by the most since October on the back of heightened volatility in the Treasury market, causing a pullback in financing applications for home purchases and refinancing. View the full article

Wall Street veteran Frank Bisignano pledged at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that he doesn't plan to privatize Social Security. View the full article

Now the structured mortgage securities are cheap enough that CLO investors are watching them more closely, according to strategists and investors. View the full article

After two consecutive quarters of profits, independent mortgage bankers lost money in the most recent period, for the ninth time in the last three years. View the full article

In a paper, former central bank researchers make the case that the Federal Reserve could better support the Treasury market from disruptions in the cash-futures basis trade by hedging its asset purchases. View the full article

The typical homebuyer's monthly mortgage payment reached a record high, up 5.3% year-over-year, but consumers are putting more money down, adding to equity. View the full article

This transaction, following Rocket's purchase of Redfin, could be the start of the creation of large players to compete with the likes of Zillow. View the full article

The nomination of Jonathan McKernan to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moves to the full Senate, where he's likely to be confirmed along party lines. View the full article

Two industry organizations are giving Congress and FHFA reasons to make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's pricing more advantageous rather than less attractive. View the full article

The most tangible concern is in the commercial real-estate market. But the rating agency's crystal ball is cloudy when it comes to single-family home loans. View the full article

A Maryland judge temporarily halted mass layoffs of probationary employees at multiple agencies, citing legal violations and harm to states' ability to respond to unemployment needs. View the full article

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte is the new chair for both and he has removed several members while adding a few new names at each. View the full article

The Buffalo, New York bank's loans edged higher in the first quarter while deposits fell 1.7% from a year ago. The bank also lowered its full-year outlook for loans and deposits. View the full article