Today, friday, may 24th, 2024. The rush is on. Tens of millions of americans are racing out the door for the long Holiday Weekend. But Severe Weather is threatening some of those plans. Were tracking what you need to know. Campus tensions. A new round of protests erupting at colleges. Demonstrators at ucla once again clashing with police and harvards Graduation Ceremony interrupted by a walkout. How University President s are defending their responses to the unrest. Game changer. An historic shift in College Sports, the ncaa clearing the way for schools to pay current and former student athletes. Why its happening now. And dont be salty. If it seems like everyone is on a Beach Vacation this summer and youre stuck at home, youre not alone. How you can avoid socalled travelfomo, fear of missing out. We begin this hour with holiday travel. Speaking of fear of missing out, were talking about the rush today. Millions of people from coasttocoast are scrambling to get to their destinations fo
“I'm at a place in my life where errands are starting to count as going out.” No one’s getting any younger, and like time marching on, technology does as well. For history buffs, here is a recording of the voice of someone born in 1800, at the 13:30 mark in the video. Fast forward, and something that enthralled countless kids has run its course: The last Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band in the world will exist in Northridge, California. Remember when that chain was popular for kids’ birthday parties? Assumable mortgages were, at one point, popular as well, but not any longer. “Assumable mortgages are hard to find, take long to process, and are only good for certain buyers.” But that doesn’t stop them from grabbing the public’s attention when they’re in the headlines. (Today’s podcast can be found here, and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, au
The old joke, “Why don’t the Phillies have a website? Because they can’t string three W’s together!” is no longer true. The Phillies are doing just fine, and the MBA Annual is underway. Talk in the hallways includes the Community Home Lenders of America, National Association of Realtors, and Independent Community Bankers of America sending a letter calling on the administration to reduce the historically high, long-term mortgage rates relative to long-term Treasury bonds, and the supposed UMortgage financials (showing loans held for sale, typically the sign of a mortgage banker not a broker, but really, financials on Reddit?). For many IMBs, their goals by going to the MBA Annual here in Philadelphia include searching for the reason for the wide bid/ask spreads in MBS trading, the reason for the increased Agency buybacks (increased inspection rates and not taking chances on seller servicers not being around in the future, are usually mentioned as the
National MI turned heads yesterday by announcing its temporary increase to AUS conforming loan amounts, despite the official FHFA word not coming until the end of November. (More below on the amounts.) Our biz is filled with “numbers people,” good or bad. According to Curinos, September 2023 funded mortgage volume decreased 30 percent YoY and 14 percent MoM. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in September was 7.01 percent, 18bps higher than August and 146bps higher than the same month last year. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures.) Inventory and sales aren’t helping. Economist Dr. Elliot Eisenberg summed things up. “August data showed MoM housing starts down 11.3 percent to their lowest level since 6/20, the NAHB housing index down sharply M-o-M for the second month in a row, and new home sales weakening 8.7 percent MoM, the biggest decline since 9/22. Existing housing
As attendees from the MBA’s servicing conference headed home this week, they may have learned that some airport lounges are cutting back on free guests. Some of those attendees work for depository banks, and they are in flux when it comes to servicing portfolios: Certainly reports of the majority of them shedding servicing are erroneous. Reports have Mr. Cooper, Nationstar, Chase, PNC, 5 3, all increasing their servicing portfolios. Other trends being discussed in the hallways at the conference include an increased scrutiny of regulators and auditors of the fair value of servicing, and counterparty financial strength of servicing sellers declining. Certainly, one topic is Wells Fargo’s shift in residential mortgages: Will its servicing hit the market in one big chunk? The general consensus is “probably not” and that Wells will sell its Ginnie portfolio (FHA, VA) and delinquent loans to reduce servicing costs. $400 billion of whole loans. Wells is not in any