Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, April 30. Protesters at Columbia University have occupied a building on campus and built barricades. Donald Trump was held in contempt for violating a gag order in his criminal trial. A former NSA worker was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for selling classified information to an undercover FBI agent.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Junk Fees: As the Biden administration’s war on “junk fees” continues, industry leaders say closing costs are not the source of home affordability challenges. Writer Erin Flynn Jay has the story.
Price Jump: Home prices soared to a new record high in February, accelerating on both an annual and monthly basis, a reversal from January.
VA Info: loanDepot introduced a new loan officer training resource for VA loans.
In other mortgage and housing news…
Politicians Step In: Unaffordability is finally forcing politicians to step up on housing, with some of the most consequential changes happening at the state level.
Biden’s New Rule: A new HUD energy rule will raise the cost of home construction when homes are already out of reach for many Americans, the WSJ argues.
Big Paychecks: The heads of UWM and Rocket earned millions of dollars last year running the top two mortgage companies in the nation.
Understanding HELOCs: A new survey found that homeowners don’t fully understand home equity and the ways tapping it could benefit them financially.
Sitting It Out: Nearly three-fourths of prospective homebuyers say they are waiting for rates to come down before entering the housing market, a survey found.
Rent Relief: Rents declined in March for the eighth consecutive month, with prices dropping by 0.3% YOY, but cost pressures are expected to remain high for a while.
CRE Meltdown: More than $38 billion of office buildings are threatened by defaults, foreclosures, or other forms of distress, the highest since Q4 2012.