May 29, 2020

Former CFPB director Richard Cordray's take on foreclosures

7 minutes

In today’s Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray's take on whether or not the U.S. housing industry views foreclosures as a last resort.

For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:

Markets are shaped by the forces of supply and demand, buying and selling, and how they come into some sort of balance. Markets that operate properly tend toward a discernable equilibrium that is predictable and sustainable. But many things can disturb this equilibrium. We might say, paradoxically, that market forces are fragile in being liable to disturbances, but once disturbed they have a powerful tendency to recover an eventual balance.

But economic markets differ in the mechanisms that restore them to equilibrium after any notable disturbance. Some markets experience greater frictions that slow their recovery. In the pure models of academic economists, prices immediately (or at least quickly) adjust to achieve balance among buyers and sellers, the mathematics take their own course, and equilibrium is restored as the natural and seemingly inevitable state of the market.

As the Great Recession showed, however, that does not happen in any serious dislocation of the housing market. When a borrower falls behind on the mortgage, there is one ultimate method for collecting on the unpaid debt: foreclosure.

Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers Labor Department data that indicates another 2.1 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, Freddie Mac’s Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey that shows mortgage rates fell to another all-time low, and fintech news from SmartRent and Amazon. But before you listen, here’s a brief word from our sponsor.

The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.

HousingWire articles covered in this episode:

[PULSE] Does the mortgage industry view foreclosure as a last resort?

Jobless claims top 40 million as pandemic layoffs hit 1 in 4 workers

Mortgage rates hit another all-time low

Amazon among companies helping apartment platform SmartRent raise $60 million

...more