Daily Dose

Amidst the positive May job reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), consumer attitudes concerning the housing market showed vast improvement for the month of May, according to results from Fannie Mae's May 2015 National Housing Survey. These positive changes also support the case for an increase in housing activity this year.

Black Knight Financial Services recently released their April 2015 Mortgage Monitor finding that the refinance share of the mortgage origination market was over 50 percent in the first quarter of 2015, a first since the third quarter of 2013. Black Knight reviewed refinance originations as a share of the total market in the report. Black Knight reviewed refinance originations as a share of the total market in the report. They also examined the tightening of current credit score requirements when dealing with both refinance and purchase originations.

Deutsche Bank recently released research titled “The Outlook in MBS and Securitized Products” finding that although a large piece of the market focuses on bank demand for mortgage-backed securities (MBS), not much focus has been placed on the shape of that demand. The report also noted that banks are adding longer lengths on MBS that would drop in value as rates go up.

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland economist Daniel Hartley and Nathaniel Baum-Snow, a professor at Brown University found that for over four decades, the demographic compositions in and near the downtown areas in medium and large U.S. cities have shifted. The residents in these areas make more money, receive better educations, and are not likely to be minorities.

For May, mortgage credit availability experienced an increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report that analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs Market Clarity business information tool. According to the index, the MCAI increased 0.5 percent to 122.6 in May.

While the nation's unemployment rate (5.5 percent) and the number of unemployed persons (8.7 million) for May 2015 remained virtually unchanged from the previous month, the number of jobs added in May increased substantially from April up to 280,000, according to the May 2015 Employment Summary released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday.

In an Investopedia.com report, author Dan Moskowitz documented the top five real estate investment trusts (REITs) that will persevere consumers’ capital investments. He also cautions to steer clear of trusts that do not have investor’s best interest of growing their capital at the forefront of their priorities.

CoStar, a research organization, reported that single family rental (SFR) property acquisition is geographically shifting as home prices stabilize and credit conditions ease. Investors have also become more selective in which properties to buy and are more focused on managing their properties, collecting rents, and improving operations.

A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is liable for facing certain legal claims that FDIC-insured JPMorgan Chase inherited from its 2008 acquisition of Washington Mutual, according to media reports. JPMorgan acquired the failing Seattle-based bank for $1.88 billion in 2008 during the onset of the financial crisis, after the Office of Thrift Supervision seized Washington Mutual and appointed the FDIC as receiver.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a warning to consumers today about the misleading effects of reverse mortgage advertisements. The Bureau released results of a focus group study on reverse mortgage advertisements and found that many participants were left confused about the product. The study found that after viewing the ads, consumers did not understand that reverse mortgages were actual loans. Instead, they were left under the false impression that reverse mortgages are government-issued program that would help consumers stay in their home for the rest of their lives.