MMGA?

Federal Housing & Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has been busy: The list of officials that Pulte has fired as well as the number of employees and entire departments he's put on leave at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHFA itself continues to grow. Discussing the cuts, Pulte says he found that approximately 1.7% of Fannie Mae's 2900 employeeswere physically showing up for work and noted that office attendance was similar at Freddie Mac, and “the issue will get fixed."'

The acronym for Pulte's movement doesn't roll off the tongue. We'll see if it pops up on trucker hats.

Real estate rebels? Buyers in Alabama don't have to sign a written agreement to tour a home in the Cotton State thanks to  their governor's signature of HB 230 into law. Trade groups there applaud the move, saying it protects buyers from being  forced into premature binding contracts, but buyers’ agreements must be in place prior to submitting an offer. This runs counter to last year’s NAR practice changes. The Alabama Association of Realtors sent a letter to NAR last September asking for their agents to be freed from the requirement of being members of and pay dues to national, state, and local associations and be given flexibility to choose which to join.

CHATTER

CFPB ups & downs: Inside Mortgage Finance says Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint response time is down to less than one day after rising to six days after the Trump administration's February order to halt work.

AI Agents are Here: Portuguese real estate company Porta da Frente Christie's has implemented Israeli startup eSelf’s technology and has seen $100M in sales based on leads the AI agent has generated.

Land Un-grab? Just about a month after Nevada's governor announced a push to free up some of the 87% of state land that is controlled by the federal government to help ease the housing crunch, the secretaries of HUD and the Department of the Interior took to social media to announce a partnership between the agencies to make a similar effort real at the federal level. The idea is gaining traction: Public policy think tank American Enterprise Institute says that unlocking 0.3% (850 square miles) of Bureau of Land Management land, the West could "build 3 million new homes, closing the housing supply gap and restoring housing affordability and economic vitality for generations to come."

Less than six months after reaching a $3.1B settlement with the Department of Justice over money laundering charges, TD Bank is closing 38 locations.

After laying off 700 and announcing that fewer Flagstar employees would transition to Mr. Cooper than previously announced, HW is reporting Flagstar plans to shutter approximately 60 branches and 20 private client offices.

Bank7 acquired First American Mortgage. Bank7 bills itself as #12 of the 20 top-performing publicly traded banks with assets under $2B.

A&D Mortgage released an automated underwriting system (AUS) for non-QM loans.

MOVING & SHAKING

Fairway promoted Amy Slotnick to President of National Branch Optimization - Sales.

PRMG named Justin Margolis VP of Non-QM Business Development.

Nationwide Mortgage Bankers announced Michael Brennan as their new president of sales and operations.

Cherry Hill Mortgage appointed Dale Hoffman to its Board of Directors.

NMN reports that Kind Lending moved Tammy Richards from COO to president of retail.

NMP reports that Carl Holman is the new director of marketing for Foundation Mortgage Corporation.

MARKET/INDUSTRY 

Last week’s FOMC meeting was predictable, and MBA’s SVP & Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni  gave his usual two cents on the topic.  Even though the Fed held rates steady, Bill Bodnar explains the benefits of the planned slowing of balance sheet reductions in his latest Master the Markets segment. Take a peek and find out the next thing the Fed thinks will be "transitory."

There was little movement in rates last week, but Freddie notes that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has stayed under 7% for nine consecutive weeks, and the MBA  Weekly Survey for the week ending 3-14-25 found that mortgage apps were down 6.2% from the previous week.

FAST FEB: Home Sales Accelerate 4.2% in Feb (NAR)

• Existing-home sales advanced 4.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million. Sales slipped 1.2% from one year ago.

• The median existing-home sales price rose 3.8% from February 2024 to $398,400, the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

• The inventory of unsold existing homes climbed 5.1% from the prior month to 1.24 million at the end of February, or the equivalent of 3.5 months' supply at the current monthly sales pace.

• "Home buyers are slowly entering the market. Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand." - NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun

Confidence Crisis? Builder Confidence Falls to Lowest in 7 Months (NAHB)

“Builders continue to face elevated building material costs that are exacerbated by tariff issues, as well as other supply-side challenges that include labor and lot shortages. At the same time, builders are starting to see relief on the regulatory front to bend the rising cost curve [ ]."  National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes

MARKET MAKEUP: February REALTORS® Confidence Index

• Days on market in Feb were 42, up from 41 in Jan, and up 38 days YoY

• The share of home selling above asking price was 21%, up from 15% in Jan

• First-time buyers were responsible for 31% of sales in February, up from 28% in January 2025 and 26% in February 2024.

• NAR's 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 24%, the lowest ever recorded.

• Cash sales accounted for 32% of transactions in February, up from 29% in January but down from 33% in February 2024.

• Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 16% of homes in February, down from 17% in January and 21% from February 2024.

• Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented 3% of sales in February, unchanged from January and the previous year.

Condo Concerns: HousingWire explores Fannie and Freddie blacklists preventing many condo owners from being able to sell due to their associations' use of cheaper, lower-cost insurance coverage that don't meet the GSEs' standards.

Struggling Seniors: The Urban Institute dove in to the 39% increase in the share of severely cost-burdened senior households between 2000 and 2020. The piece explores the rising costs of utilities, home insurance, property taxes, maintenance, and other fees and potential solutions to address them as the number of older adults will outnumber children for the first time in American history.

Pennsylvania Pinnacle: Pittsburgh was the core-based statistical area (CBSA) with the highest YoY home price increase according to  First American Data & Analytics' February Home Price Index, at 7%. St. Louis was second at 4.6%, Warren, MI at 4.1%, followed by Las Vegas at 3.9% and Baltimore at 3.1%. First American's statewide numbers showed Maine, Wyoming, and Idaho with the highest gains at 10.1, 9.3 and 8.2% respectively.

BULLISH BUYERS: Highlights from TD Bank’s 2025 1st-Time Home Buyer Survey

• 74% feel optimistic about the current housing market

• 47% are already saving for a down payment despite trepidation about housing affordability

• 64% say they’re concerned with their ability to afford a home in today’s market due to interest rates

• 62% say they’re worried about being able to afford their other expenses on top of purchasing a home given inflation

• 88% have taken actions to boost their credit score in anticipation of purchasing a home, with 51% paying down as much debt as possible and 44% ensuring their credit report has no errors

• 22% of respondents have created a personalized homeownership budget with their mortgage broker, while another 26% plan to do so when they meet with a mortgage broker

MIXED FLIP RESULTS: Year-End 2024 U.S. Home Flipping Report (ATTOM Data)

• 297,885 single-family homes and condos were flipped in 2024, down 7.7% YoY and a 32.4% drop from the 2022 peak.

• Flipped homes accounted for 7.6% of all home sales, down from 8.1% the previous year. 

• Typical gross profit rose to $72K, with a 29.6% ROI (up from 28.6% in 2023), but still well below the 2016 peak of 54.2%.

• Flipping rates dropped in 68% of metro areas, with the biggest declines in Charlotte, NC; Jacksonville, FL, and New Orleans, LA. Growth was seen in Cedar Rapids, IA, and Bellingham, WA.

• Cash purchases rose to 63.2% of flips, while financed flips dipped to 36.8%.

• Average time to flip dropped to 162 days (down from 169 in 2023).

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