Today’s News Synopsis:

HUD and the Census Bureau reported a 9% decrease in housing starts for the month of September.  The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications increased 0.6% from last week.  In a surprising story, the group that is contributing greatly to the housing market is millennials.

In The News:

Wall Street Journal – “A New Real-Estate War in Silicon Valley” (10-18-16)

“Soaring apartment costs in Silicon Valley are fueling popular support for an idea bitterly opposed by many landlords in America’s technology capital: rent controls.”

NAHB – “Housing Starts Decline 9 Percent in September on Multifamily Weakness” (10-19-16)

“A sharp decline in multifamily production brought overall nationwide housing starts down 9 percent in September, according to newly released data from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Applications Slightly Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (10-19-16)

“Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 14, 2016. This week’s results included an adjustment for the Columbus Day holiday.”

CNBC – “Why housing numbers are not as horrible as they look” (10-19-16)

“September housing starts came in 9 percent below August and 12 percent below September 2015, according to the U.S. Census, but those big drops belie a huge improvement for the market, at least in this monthly read.”

Bloomberg – “Look Who’s Driving the U.S. Housing Market” (10-19-16)

“Not very long ago, it was fashionable to ask if millennials would ever crawl out of their parents’ basements and into a realtor’s office.  Enthusiasm for that view, which had gained wide exposure by 2012, lost steam as mortgages got easier to come by and millennials kept insisting that no, actually, they do want to own a home.”

DS News – “Reversing the Trend: Downfall Seen in Defaults” (10-19-16)

“Data through September 2016, recently released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, showed drops in numerous default rates, a reverse of the trend seen last month.”

Freddie Mac – “Freddie Mac Announces Pricing of $308 Million Multifamily Small Balance Loan Securitization” (10-19-16)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) announces the pricing of the SB23 offering, a multifamily mortgage-backed securitization backed by small balance loans underwritten by Freddie Mac and issued by a third-party trust.”

Business Insider – “This startup replaces real-estate agents with an app – and says it will save homebuyers lots of money” (10-19-16)

“Amit Haller is living the American dream. He sold his startup for $42 million in 2006 and became a Bay Area real-estate tycoon. Now he has launched another tech startup taking on the real-estate industry with a new way to buy and sell homes — entirely though an app.”