Weekly News (August 10, 2022)

Mortgage Interest Rates Review (31st Week)

(Fairway Asset Corp. 08/10/2022)

$10B to Port Authority Bus Terminal: 포트오소리티 버스 터미널,  100억불 드려 개조 

(Korea Daily 8/6/2022)

• PANYNJ announced they will invest $10B to renovate the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and designated design companies – Foster+Partners in UK and A. Epstein in U.S. which designed Jacob Javits center.
• The proposed plan includes 5-story bus terminal, 1M sf bus storage between 9th and 10th Streets, an enlarged ramp connecting to the Lincoln Tunnel, and 4 mixed use buildings around the new terminal.
• The construction will begin toward the end of 2023, and will open temporary terminal and ramp in 2028. The project will be completed in 2031.

NYC May Ban Tenant Criminal Screening: 뉴욕시, 입주자의 범죄 기록 조사를 금할지도

(NYT  8/10/2022)

• New York City is likely join a member of other cities in limiting the ability of landlords to screen tenants based on their criminal records, which could affect thousand’s of people seeking housing in the city.
• A bill to be introduced in City Council on Thursday would, with a few exceptions, ban landlords and brokers from seeking a person’s criminal records, and bar them from denying housing because of prior arrests or convictions. The mayor has signaled that he is favorable.
• Under the bill, someone who believes they have been discriminated against because of their criminal history could file a law suit against a landlord or a complaint with NYC Commission on Human Rights. But it is unclear how prepared the city is to enforce the bill’s provisions. It already struggles to enforce a law that prevents housing discrimination against people who depend on rental vouchers.

Sunbelt Land Rush Boosts Prices: 미, 선 벨트 지역 땅값이 치 솟아

(WSJ 8/10/2022)

• Investors snap up lots near Miami, Phoenix, Austin – and sit back to see if value rises. Fast-growing Sunbelt cities are experiencing a land rush, sending investors, moguls and professional athletes racing to buy empty lots while lifting land values to new heights.
• Sales of land last year rose faster than any other major type of commercial real estate across U.S., according to NAR. In the Sunbelt, the quarterly number of undeveloped land sales more than doubled over the past three years, according to Costar Group’s Land.com, a land-listing website.
• But WeWork isn’t alone in looking into new business opportunities in the upheaval in the office-space industry caused by the pandemic, competitors offering apps, data, telecommunications and other software include technology companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Honeywell Int’l Inc.

Number of sales of undeveloped land in Sunbelt states, quarterly

Ave 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Falls to 4.990% : 평균 모기지 이자 4.99% 로 떨어져

(WSJ   8/5/2022)

• Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level since April, offering a reprieve to prospective home buyers who have been hit this year with higher rates and surging prices. The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 4.99% this week, down from 5.30% a week earlier, according to a survey done by Freddie Mac published in Thursday. They have fallen swiftly in recent weeks from their 13 year high of 5.81% in June.
• Still, rapid changes in mortgage rates are likely to continue as economists debate whether to be more concerned about inflation or a recession.
• The high uncertainty surrounding inflation and other factors will likely cause rates to remain variable, especially as the Fed attempts to navigate the current economic environment, said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Americans Reduce Inflation Expectations: 미국 국민의 인플레이션 우려 감소

(WSJ   8/9/2022)

• Americans are expecting less inflation in coming years, according to a recent survey by the Fed Reserve Bank of New York. Respondents’ median expectations in July was for annual inflation rate of 6.2% in one year, down from the 6.8% they expected in June, the regional bank said Monday.
• They expected inflation in three years to be at 3.2%, down from the 3.6% they expected in June, and inflation in five years to be at 2.3%, down from a previous 2.8%.
• Economists don’t see consumer expectations as a formal forecast, but pay attention to such surveys as a sign of popular psychology that can influence price pressures. Fed reserve officials believe expectations of higher inflation can be self-fulfilling, causing people to pay higher prices and press for higher wages in anticipation of higher costs in the future, causing inflation to accelerate.

Median expected inflation rate one year and three year ahead 

Virtual Real-Estate Closings Go Mainstream: 비대면  클로징이 대세로 등장  

(WSJ    8/9/2022)

• Real-Estate closings can now take place remotely in most states, a shift that accelerated as much of life moved online during the pandemic. Mortgage lenders are pushing the remaining states to come on board , too, though lawmakers have reservations.
• Today, 43 states have laws permanently allowing remote online notarization, which underpins virtual closings, up from 22 at the outset of the pandemic, according to the National Notary Association. During a remote closing, homebuyers videoconference with lenders, lawyers, and notaries who verify identities. Documents are signed electronically.
• At the federal level, the House in late passed the Secure Notarization Act, which would allow notaries nationwide to perform remote online notarizations. The bill is now moves on to the Senate.

Biden signs $280B CHIPS act: 미정부, 2천8백억불 규모의 기술분야 투자에 인준

(Record  8/10/2022)

• President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a $280B bipartisan bill to boost domestic high-tech manufacturing, part of his administration’s push to boost U.S. competitiveness over China.    (Chips and Science Act)
• “The future of the chip industry is going to be made in America,” Biden said on a Rose Garden ceremony Tuesday, referring to the definitive devices that power everything from smartphones to computers to automobiles. The legislation sets aside $52B specifically to bolster the U.S. computer chip sector.
• The White House sought Tuesday to begin selling the immediate impacts of the semiconductor measure, noting that Micron, a leading U.S. chip manufacturer, will announce a $40B plan to boost production of memory chips, while Qualcomm and Global Foundries will unveil a $4.2B expansion of an upstate New York chip plant ( East Fishkill & Malta, NY)