The home price correction is mild

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Welcome to the 322 new folks joining us since Monday. Let's dive in!

1. Ex-Employees Sue AmeriSave

140 former employees of AmeriSave Mortgage are suing the company for $43.5 million.

They claim the firm lied about financial health, failed to pay wages and bonuses, and defamed them by saying they were fired "for cause." According to the employees, the terminations breached their contracts and violated the WARN Act.

They also claim the company made derogatory entries in their NMLS license records. The lawsuit was moved to federal court at AmeriSave's request.

2. Home Price Growth Slowed Again In November

Yesterday, we learned that home price growth slowed as measured by the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Index.

• Nationwide, home prices posted an annual gain of 7.7% in November, down from 9.2% in October. This is the eighth consecutive month of shrinking gains.

• The Composite National Index was down 0.6% MoM, reflecting a -3.6% decline since the market peaked in June 2022.

• The 20-city home price index recorded a 6.8% year-over-year gain, and the 10-city composite index recorded a 6.3% annual gain.

• Miami and Tampa had the highest annual price gains at 18.4% and 16.9%, respectively. All 20 cities analyzed showed monthly price declines with a median decline of -0.8%.

• San Francisco had the first negative result in more than 10 years at -1.6%.

Firms like CoreLogic and Zillow think the tight inventory environment will contain the home price correction going forward.

3. More Nuggets

FHA announces changes to loss mitigation waterfall (Source)

Fairway is investing heavily in its reverse mortgage lending business (Press Release)

Former Live Well CEO sentenced to 44 months in prison (NMP)

4. Mortgage delinquencies are down 9%

Black Knight's December 2022 mortgage report showed a 9% decrease in delinquencies over the year, while foreclosure starts rose by 15% in December, still lower than pre-pandemic rates.

The report highlights:

• Continued improvement in serious delinquencies (90+ days overdue) across the country.

• The states with the highest delinquency rates were Mississippi (6.87%), Louisiana (6.33%), and Oklahoma (5.16%).

• The states with the lowest delinquency rates were Oregon (2.10%), Colorado (1.96%), and California (1.91%).

This is a positive outlook overall. Despite any potential economic downturn later in the year, it is unlikely to reach the severity of the 2008 recession. It appears that individuals are adapting to the current financial circumstances.

5.Meme of the day

🧠 Riddle: I bought a cow for $800. I sold it for $1000. I bought it again for $1100. I sold it again for $1300. How much did I earn? Reply to this email with your answer

☀️ See you on Friday!

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