A report from Bankrate. "The coronavirus pandemic has blindsided the U.S. housing market, transforming the spring selling season that’s traditionally the annual peak of sales into a deep valley. 'This industry is just doing a very slow crawl,' says Leslie…
An opinion piece from Christopher Whalen, Chairman, Whalen Global Advisors LLC at National Mortgage News. "Last week was difficult for members of the mortgage industry, especially for those members of the residential lending community who've been working in the world…
Two reports from Housing Wire. "One thing that is clear, however, is that the mortgage lending landscape is vastly different in early April than it was in early March. Certain segments of the business – namely government, non-QM, and jumbo…
This past year had a lot of important developments, so I wanted to do a year end summary. It turned out to have more than I expected so this installment will be the first half of the year, and I'll…
A report from Mother Jones on California. "By the time Dominique Walker started squatting in an Oakland home with her five-year-old daughter and one-year-old son, she’d exhausted all other options. Walker, who had fled domestic violence in Mississippi, knew it…
A report from DS News. "Foreclosure auction inflow data points to a third wave of post-recession distress building in late 2019 and early 2020. A total of 43,232 residential properties nationwide were referred to Auction.com in Q3 2019 for a…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Cerberus Capital Management LP is bringing back a type of mortgage bond that went extinct during the financial crisis. A unit of the private-equity firm issued bonds Friday backed entirely by home-equity lines…
A report from Patch New York City. "Prices dropped on some 212 homes in the Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill area last month, the most for any neighborhood in the city, according to a report from RealtyHop. One home in the…
A weekend topic starting with Kenneth R. Harney. "According to the Urban Institute Housing Finance Policy Center's latest quarterly credit availability report, mortgage lenders are reaching out to borrowers who might have been marginal — or rejectees — in the…
A report from Kieth Jurow. "The 2004-07 bubble era in U.S. housing markets was a time of utter madness. Much has been written about it, but almost nothing has been said about the craziest aspect of it – the cash-out…