COVID-19

2020 came, and with it COVID-19. Five weeks into the crisis, demand for housing in the U.S. bottomed and then after about nine weeks, began to climb again, with purchase applications making a full V-shaped recovery by early June. The housing bubble boys had those five glorious weeks when it finally looked like the market would succumb to their dire …

As the Biden/Harris administration takes office, it faces many crises and challenges – including bridging the partisan divide, ramping up vaccines to end the COVID-19 crisis, jump-starting the economy, and facing huge budget deficits at a time when many believe we need to spend more to help the economy. From my perspective as the owner of a small independent mortgage …

2020 has posed new safety concerns across the country—from spikes in COVID-19 cases, to recent wildfires, storms, and other natural disasters. Still, problems like crime and financial safety continue to be cause for concerns for many cities. WalletHub recently released a report which analyzes data from 182 U.S. cities, including 150 of the nation’s most … The post The Safest …

2020 has posed new safety concerns across the country—from spikes in COVID-19 cases, to recent wildfires, storms, and other natural disasters. Still, problems like crime and financial safety continue to be cause for concerns for many cities. WalletHub recently released a report which analyzes data from 182 U.S. cities, including 150 of the nation’s most … The post Top 10 …

More than one-third of landlords have not received 100% of rent payments during September, according to new data released by the Urban Institute and Avail, a property management platform. In an October survey of 1,381 landlords who own rental properties, 35.2% of respondents said they did not receive the full amount of rental payments from … The post Landlords Carry …

There appears to be a bit of bounce in the step of economic activity in the U.S. as total nonfarm payroll employment spiked by 638,000 in October, coupled by a 6.9% drop in the unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The story behind the story? The BLS indicated the springboard in … The post U.S. Workforce …

In the midst of the pandemic and economic turmoil, seamless digital transactions will be at the epicenter of business survival, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence and Transunion. Whether companies thrive or fold will hang on providing consumers friction-right digital transactions, the study overwhelmingly found. In fact, almost 85% of global executives surveyed … The post Digital Transactions: …

Speaking at this week’s virtual 2020 National Property Preservation Conference, Jacob Williamson, VP for Single-Family Collateral Risk Management at Fannie Mae, offered insight into how the housing finance company has managed property preservation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.     When COVID-19 shelter-in-place protocols were introduced this year, vendors and servicers maintaining properties faced major challenges.   “We’ve observed a tremendous response by our property preservation vendors and our servicing partners to keep property preservation activities … The post How Fannie …