Selling stocks to buy a house, the continued delay on confirming the new CFPB director, and layoffs at Fannie Mae. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of April 7-11.
Hit: Taking Stock. One of the most intriguing real estate-related surveys came this week from Redfin, which polled 1,802 adults and found one in five (20%) prospective homebuyers are expecting to sell stocks to help fund their next down payment. Among homeowners, Redfin found roughly one in eight (13%) sold stocks to help fund their down payment while one in 10 (10%) homeowners sold stocks to help afford their mortgage payments. As for renters, only 6% admitted selling stock to cover their housing costs. It is a great idea – provided we’re in a bull market. But while week’s rollercoaster ride on Wall Street diluted the strength of stock portfolios, Redfin economist Chen Zhao observed, “A volatile stock market can encourage people to invest their money in real estate instead of stocks because some may view a home as a safer investment.” Zhao added that “stocks declining can push mortgage rates down.”
Miss: Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman! While stocks have been losing value for most of the week, postage stamps are poised to become more expensive. The US Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission for price changes to take effect July 13. The new rates include a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents and domestic postcard rates taking a 6-cent hike from 56 cents to 62 cents. For real estate professionals who rely on the Postal Service for business correspondence and direct mail marketing, this is yet another unwanted expense from an agency with a chronic talent for losing money.
Miss: What’s Taking So Long? Remember Jonathan McKernan, President Trump’s nominee to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? His nomination cleared the Senate Banking Committee last month but has yet to be voted on by the full Senate. This week, the committee’s chairman, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), said a vote should happen in May. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is responsible for bringing the president’s nominees to the full Senate vote, but he has never given a reason on why it has taken so long for McKernan to get confirmed – which is bizarre when you consider the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Paul Watkins and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Bill Pulte were already confirmed. And speaking of Pulte…
Hit: Tossing Out the Bad Apples. The new FHFA director surprised many people this week with the following announcement on X: “We fired over 100 employees from Fannie Mae who we caught engaging in unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud, against our great company. Anyone who commits fraud against Fannie Mae does so against the American people.” Pulte did not identify the specific actions that led to the mass firings. Separately, Pulte took to X once more to report cost cutting to climate and DEI endeavors at Fannie Mae resulted in $6.4 million in savings while “Freddie Mac spent $9 million on DEI last year – we are eradicating it and returning the $9 million to better uses that actually make homes more affordable.”
Hit: Hidden Talents. This week, two real estate professionals offered glimpses into their other talents. Edward Pittman, senior vice president of communications at Carrington Mortgage Holdings, announced the release of his first book of poetry, “Tell Me How You Are: A Chronology of Love and Loss,” which he described as offering “unflinching insights into love and loss, and the many moments in between.” The book has already generated extremely positive reviews. Then there’s Rob Digiorgio, a 44-year-old construction company owner who signed up for tryouts with the New York Dragons indoor football team. Digiorgio told News 12 Long Island that his age is not an obstacle for a second career in sports, stating, “Don’t let anyone tell you how old you are. Don’t ever let anyone say you can’t do something, that you’re not good enough or smart enough. You won’t know until you try … I’m just hoping to show them at my age you can get out here and perform.”
Hit: Unlikely Homebuilders. While Pittman and Digiorgio are moving beyond the real estate world to show off their talents, an unlikely group are making their first tentative steps into this environment. The Pensacola News Journal shared the story of 10 inmates at Florida’s Century Correctional Institute who are part of a program where they learn homebuilding skills via the construction of tiny homes. The Florida Department of Corrections and Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises Inc. (PRIDE) are coordinating the program, which is a win-win for the men who are serious about turning their lives around by learning skills that can lead to jobs once they are released. “A lot of us, we have a stigma on us just because we’re in the uniforms you see us in now,” said program participant Jose Buni. “Once we’re released, we have something to build on.” And not only that, the program helps to address the local shortage of affordable housing options. Truly, this is a win-win initiative.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at phil@wrenews.com.
