Colorful Language

By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest

Hitting from the Hague: Responding to a question from a Bloomberg reporter at the NATO summit, President Trump gave his take on why Fed Chair Jerome Powell should make a rate cut, and his answer was laden with Trumpish jabs at Powell's IQ and potential political bias. Meanwhile, the president also suggested he may choose a Shadow Fed Chairnearly a year before Powell’s term ends in hopes of “undermining his agenda and to inflict pressure.” Oh, and the NATO chief called Trump “Daddy.”

 

While all the fun was happening in the International City of Peace and Justice, FHFA – I mean U.S. Federal Housing – Director Bill Pulte said that a fired Freddie Mac employee will be sentenced this week for threatening to blow up a building he was in. He shared one of Maria Del Carmen Lopez Lozano’s threats with his X audience: “Give me a few more minutes and I will blow up this mother ****** building at Freddie Mac so people know that this is real and not fake.” Pulte says Lozano is still trying to contact him.

CHATTER

Trigger Finger: U.S. House Passes Trigger Lead Bill

MBA applauds the unanimous passage of the bill that will end what some call “abusive trigger leads.” This follows passage of similar legislation in the Senate. “MBA will continue to work with the sponsors and congressional leadership in both chambers to reconcile the minor differences between the two bills so that one bill can be passed and signed into law as soon as possible.” - MBA's President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB

 

GSE Siblings Not Allowed to Talk? NMN Reports

"In following President Trump's deregulation mandate, I ordered the executives of Fannie and Freddie to meet and provide me [with] regulatory changes. To my surprise, they hadn't been allowed to talk, despite being heavily regulated together." Bill Pulte, Director of the Agency Formerly Known as the FHFA

 

What’s in a Name? Fannie & Freddie Create US Fin Tech

U.S. Federal Housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jointly create U.S. Financial Technology, LLC to inventory and manage $6.5 trillion mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio and to sell their technology to other institutions.

"We created U.S. Fin Tech to demonstrate the incredible ingenuity of American technology under President Trump's leadership," said Director William J. Pulte, U.S. Federal Housing FHFA and Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

Crypto Consideration: FHFA Director Bill Pulte Tells Fannie & Freddie to Get Ready

Pulte ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage.

 

Bridge to Buy: Rocket Introduces Bridge Loan Product

Rocket Mortgage's bridge loan gives clients up to six months to sell their home, with interest-only payments throughout that period. To qualify, clients must have their home listed, be under contract with a listing agent or have a guaranteed buyout agreement in place. The client must also have an associated Rocket Mortgage purchase loan to be eligible.

 

Robo Realtors: Housesavings.com Launches Low Commission Platform

The new digital-first platform is offering flat-fee and low-commission services designed to reduce costs for home sellers starting at $999 or a 1% commission at closing, and “providing expert support and full-service options.”

 

Quote of the Week: “Given the cyclical nature of the housing market, we are currently riding the trough, with nowhere to go but up.” Cotality Chief Economist Dr.Selma Hepp

MOVING & SHAKING

Former loanDepot CEO Frank Martell is now President and CEO of SmartRent, a "provider of smart communities solutions and smart operations solutions for the rental housing industry."

 

NMP reports that West Capital Lending hired Brett Contreras as VP of Compliance.

MARKET/INDUSTRY 

Mortgage Rates Decrease: Freddie 6-26-25

Overall, news has been pretty good for rates lately according to Bill Bodnar in his latest Master the Markets segment. In a short week where the JOLTS report comes out and the market closes at 2p on Thursday, we could see some volatility depending on how the jobs report lands.

 

Mortgage applications increased 1.1% from one week earlier: MBAWeekly Survey for the week ending 6-20-25. 

Unaffordability Up In 99% of Counties: ATTOM Data’s Q225 U.S. Home Affordability Report

  • 14th straight quarter of affordability decline.

  • Major homeownership costs now consumer 33.7% of the average American’s wages, up from 32% in Q1 and well above the lender-recommended threshold.

  • The national median home price rose to $369,000, up 5% quarterly and 3% annually.

  • The least unaffordable counties are in MI and TX, while the most unaffordable are in CA and HI.

  • California has 64% of the 25 counties that require the highest annual income for home affordability.

Existing Home Sales Listless: NAR May EHS Report

Month-over-month:

  • 0.8% increase in existing-home sales -- seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million in May.

  • 6.2% increase in unsold inventory -- 1.54 million units equal to 4.6 months' supply.

Year-over-year:

  • 0.7% decrease in existing-home sales.

  • 1.3% increase in median existing-home sales price to $422,800.

"The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates. Lower interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market." NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

Pendings Were Perkier: May Was Better Than April (NAR)

Month-Over-Month:

  • 1.8% increase in pending home sales

  • All four U.S. regions experienced increases

Year-Over-Year:

  • 1.1% increase in pending home sales

  • Pending home sales increased in the Midwest and South but decreased in the Northeast and West

"Consistent job gains and rising wages are modestly helping the housing market. Hourly wages are increasing faster than home prices. However, mortgage rate fluctuations are the primary driver of homebuying decisions and impact housing affordability more than wage gains." – Lawrence Yun

Mortgages the Biggest Delinquents: VantageScore’s May CreditGauge

  • Mortgage Loan Delinquencies Increased Most Across All Credit Products

  • Early-Stage Credit Delinquencies Rise Across Most VantageScore Credit Tiers

  • Average Credit Balances Reach New Highs

“The rise in early and mid-stage delinquencies this month indicates potential financial strain among some consumers. While consumer behavior generally remains positive, particularly among younger borrowers, mortgages may be an area to watch for increasing credit stress, particularly for traditionally less-risky segments with credit scores above VantageScore 660.” Susan Fahy, EVP and Chief Digital Officer at VantageScore.

New Condo Laws in FL: HW

Many of the changes outlined in the bills were championed by Florida Realtors. These changes include things like adjustments to document transparency and an extended deadline for “structural integrity reserve studies” (SIRS) until the end of 2025. 

Calm, Cool & Collected: Banks Fared Well on Stress Tests (NMN)

Most of the country's largest banks are poised to see flat or lower capital requirements next year after performing well in this year's Federal Reserve stress test, but ongoing efforts to reform its annual exam practices could complicate how much lower those requirements will ultimately be. 

Overall, banks registered their best performance since new stress testing protocols were rolled out in 2018, with a maximum aggregate decline in common equity Tier 1 capital of 1.8% under the test's severe scenario, down significantly from an average of 2.8% last year. 

 

Forbearance vs. Foreclosure: NMN Analyzes Reports

  • Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration save billions of dollars over time by giving loans a chance to reperform, Housing Risk and Policy Advisors found in an analysis of data from sources that included Recursion.

  • An analysis based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data for a two-decade period that included the Great Financial Crisis suggests home retention saved the FHA $23.2 billion on a net basis after expenses.

  • A separate paper devoted solely to Fannie and Freddie estimates the average cost of a disposition is $43,337 per seriously delinquent loan, resulting in net savings of $18,670. When compared to a market-rate loan modification, which costs $38,933, the net savings is $14,266.

 

Class Action: 1 in 11 Millionaires Are Renting - RentCafe

They don’t need homes to build wealth: Between 2019 and 2023, the number of renter households with an income of $1 million or more grew from 4,500 to 13,700 — a staggering increase as an additional 9,200 millionaire renters joined the market. During the same period, millionaire homeowners also saw a remarkable rise, climbing from 52,966 to 142,320 households.

Get InGeniusly Speaking delivered to your inbox every Monday!

Forward InGeniusly Speaking to a friend or colleague!