With the company seemingly moving closer to being returned to its pre-crisis state as a private company, Fannie Mae is bringing on some serious banking experience to help guide the GSE’s future. Fannie Mae announced Wednesday that Sheila Bair, the chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. during the financial crisis, is joining the GSE’s board of directors.

Airbnb vacation rentals took over one city in Arizona, frustrating its citizens and causing business leaders to speak out. It is now estimated that about 1,000 homes, or 20% of the city’s total housing inventory, are being used as short-term vacation rentals.

Mortgage Tech Rundown looks at the latest news in mortgage technology, featuring new product updates, integrations and announcements. Today we take a look at the latest fintech news from AIME, LoanScorecard and Shape Software.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes Wednesday from its July Federal Open Markets Committee meeting, showing that more rate cuts are likely through the end of 2020. But one expert points out the decision was not without its opponents. In fact, the Fed minutes reveal a sharp division between some committee members on the rate cut decision.

Mortgage rates and bond yields have plummeted recently. As a result, the economics of mortgage lending have shifted. In this guest contribution, former MBA CEO David Stevens asks whether the time is right for lenders to consider retaining the mortgage servicing rights on their loans.

Existing-home sales rose in July from the prior month, increasing nearly 2.5%, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said falling mortgage rates are improving housing affordability and nudging buyers into the market. However, Yun warns that the supply of affordable housing is severely low, and the shortage of lower-priced homes have pushed up home prices.

Do mortgage lenders have their hands full right now thanks to the recent surge in refinances? It looks like that may be the case, as new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that refinances remained at three-year highs in the last week. According to the MBA report, approximately 63% of all the mortgage applications received in the last week were for refinances, the highest the refinance share has been in almost three years. 

The London Interbank Offered Rate is set to expire at the end of this 2021, and U.S. lenders are still unclear on what short-term interest rate benchmark they will transition to. The LIBOR transition could present logistical challenges especially for legacy transactions that represent a significant portion of outstanding issuance.