HousingWire

• Elevated mortgage rates aren’t discouraging homebuyers
  Housing demand continues to hold up despite elevated mortgage rates, trade war uncertainty and terrible consumer confidence data.
• Seattle housing market wrestles with crippling affordability concerns
  Seattle is wrestling with a problem that is more acute than all but a handful of metropolitan areas — crippling affordability issues.
• Comfortable city living usually requires a six-figure salary
  Nine of the top 10 cities where homeowners need the highest incomes are located on the West Coast or in the Pacific region.
• Americans are divided over housing impacts of immigration, tariffs
  Opinions fell mainly along party lines, with Republicans having a rosier view of tariffs and new immigration policies than Democrats.
• In Chicago, a reverse mortgage scammer left a lasting scar
  Mark Diamond was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his crimes against elderly homeowners, but the damage in Chicago is still visible.
• Tech Pulse: UWM challenges industry AI fear; Optimal Blue automates refi opportunities
  Key news this week includes comments on "AI fear," Zillow Rentals adding conversational AI and Optimal Blue revealing a new refinance tool.
• First American: Rising costs squeeze homeownership for millions
  Borrowers have seen their housing cost burden edge up slightly, from 19.8% of household income in 2020 to 20.3% in 2023.
• MBA, FHFA explore single credit report for mortgages
  The trade group is “engaging with the Trump administration, and specifically FHFA, to conduct the assessments needed to reform this process and align with the rest of the consumer finance market.” 
• HUD signs agreement with South Korean housing finance agency to spur MBS investment
  HUD and Ginnie Mae signed an MOU with a South Korean housing finance authority, with the goal of increasing investment in U.S. agency MBS.
• How midsize lenders are surviving the mortgage squeeze
  While expense control has been a survival strategy for many mortgage lenders, growth now hinges on finding new revenue streams beyond the traditional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.