Today’s News Synopsis:

Mortgage rates decreased again to their lowest this year with 30-year rates at 3.95% and 15-year rates at 3.19%.  Loans originated on residential properties came in at 1.4 million in the first quarter, down 30% from the previous quarter and up 21% year over year.  The labor market is continuing to show improvement, as demonstrated by jobless claims showing little change.

In The News:

Freddie Mac – “Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest of 2017” (5-25-2017)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS^®), showing average mortgage rates hitting their lowest mark of the year.”

Zillow – “National Home Values Surpass Peak” (5-25-2017)

“National home values have surpassed the peak hit during the housing bubble and are at their highest value in more than a decade, according to the April Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.”

Bloomberg – “Rising Seas May Wipe Out These Jersey Towns, but They’re Still Rated AAA” (5-25-2017)

“Few parts of the U.S. are as exposed to the threats from climate change as Ocean County, New Jersey. It was here in Seaside Heights that Hurricane Sandy flooded an oceanfront amusement park, leaving an inundated roller coaster as an iconic image of rising sea levels.”

NAHB – “Multifamily Developer Confidence Dips in First Quarter as Market Levels Off” (5-25-2017)

“The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), dropped seven points to 48 in the first quarter of 2017.”

Realty Trac – “U.S. Residential Loan Origination Dollar Volume Drops to Three-Year Lows in Q1 2017” (5-25-2017)

“ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest multi-sourced property database, today released its Q1 2017 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report, which shows that more than 1.4 million (1,415,847) loans were originated on U.S. residential properties (1 to 4 units) in the first quarter of 2017, down 30 percent from the previous quarter and down 21 percent from a year ago.”

Tech Crunch – “Reali expands its online real-estate service to the entire Bay Area, raises $5M Series A round” (5-25-2017)

“Reali wants to change how people buy and sell their homes and now it has $5 million more to work on it, thanks to a Series A led by Signia Venture Partners”

DS News – “The Fight Against Blight in Maryland” (5-25-2017)

“Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed a fast-track foreclosure law which would expedite the foreclosure process with the intent to reduce community blight, following the footsteps of a similar bill in Ohio.”

Bloomberg – “Little-Changed U.S. Jobless Claims Signal Solid Labor Market” (5-25-2017)

“U.S. jobless-benefit claims are hovering near levels that continue to reflect a strong labor market, with figures little changed last week, Labor Department data showed Thursday.”