Lumber is on a tear again, bringing back the specter of increasing construction costs.
“Prices are well above trend pricing, as well as our own price forecasts,” Mark Wilde, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in New York, said Wednesday in an email. “We are also just heading toward spring construction season and housing market activity, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see prices rally further.”
Wood prices
The Federal Housing Administration reported a 96 basis point increase in its capital ratio for fiscal year 2023, and lenders want more changes to the program.
A handful of mortgage stakeholders have expressed skepticism that the trigger lead bill will be passed this year, but are hopeful for 2025.
Homeowners in recent years strayed from cash-out refinances and home equity loans despite their greater financing power.
Sam Valverde, acting president of Ginnie Mae, has resigned after about six months in the job.
In its semiannual supervision and regulation report, the Federal Reserve flagged climbing loan delinquencies and a rising number of large bank citations for governance and controls.
Private-label securitization volume increased 75% this year versus 2023; conditions are right for that to continue, KBRA said.
