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80
May 2025
F I N A L T H O U G H T S
"still putting the pieces back together"
Scott Turner, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
announced that HUD is extending foreclosure relief to hurricane victims to assist with recovery
following back-to-back hurricanes this past fall.
"risk of a summer surge in bankruptcy"
Matt Layton, LegalShield SVP of Consumer Analytics, discussed how the potential of a summer
spike in bankruptcy filings becomes quite real when Americans combine record debt, mounting
delinquencies, and ongoing financial stress with price pressures brought on by tariff uncertainties.
"more ways to qualify buyers"
Rob Chrane, Founder and CEO of Down Payment Resource (DPR), explained how manufactured
and multifamily dwellings are becoming included in more programs, creating additional avenues for
affordability and reliable revenue, and, in such a challenging market, giving lenders additional options
for qualifying buyers and completing loan closings.
"stronger than last year"
Joel Kan, MBA's VP and Deputy Chief Economist, talked about how over the course of the month,
homebuyer interest was bolstered by the expanding supply of recently constructed, move-in-ready homes,
which caused the index to surpass its levels from the previous year. Despite a minor drop in March, the
estimate of seasonally adjusted new home sales was still higher than the pace of sales the previous year.
"odds of a recession are higher"
Redfin Economics Lead Chen Zhao described how, due to their legitimate concerns about job security and
the possibility of having to pay more for daily costs, consumers are tightening their belts. However, there are a
few possible bright spots for homebuyers: the decline in demand may result in stable or even declining home
prices, and there's a chance that mortgage rates will reduce over the next months.
