THIS WEEK'S INDUSTRY HEADLINES WITH KEVIN KAUFFMAN & FRED WEAVER

***Culdesac, the U.S.’s first, from-scratch car-free neighborhood is coming to Tempe in 2020

 

Ryan Johnson left Opendoor in 2018 to co-found Culdesac, which now says it's building the first from-scratch, car-free community in the US

 

Culdesac Tempe, a 1,000-person development set to open fall 2020, bills itself as the “world’s first post-car real estate developer.” Founders Ryan Johnson and Jeff Berens say they want to provide people the option of living a car-free lifestyle. The mixed-use Culdesac Tempe neighborhood is a $140 million project, capitalized by traditional real estate investors, and will include a dog park, restaurants, market hall, grocery store, and gym, with access to a light rail that connects to downtown Tempe, the airport, and Arizona State University. 16 acres near Apache Boulevard and River Road

 

Culdesac has so far raised $10 million in venture capital, indicating that investors are willing to give the company a chance.

 

 

 

***Gen Z FICO scores beat Millennials and Gen X

The youngest generation outperforms elders despite shortest credit histories

 

Of the three American generations following the Baby Boomers, the youngest is doing better at managing its credit.

 

Gen Z, meaning people born in 1995 or later, has an average FICO score of 637, above the all-age average of 634, according to a report from LendingPoint, a consumer lending platform.

 

Gen X, the 1965 to 1980 generation that followed the Baby Boomers, has an average FICO score of 632, the report said. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, have an average FICO score of 629.

 

The average FICO score for Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, was 645, according to the report. The results are based on almost 5 million applications for person loans received by LendingPoint between July 2018 and July 2019.

 

 

***Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac loan limit increases to more than $510,000

Conforming loan limit has now increased by nearly $100,000 since 2016

 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that it is raising the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to more than $510,000.

 

In most of the U.S., the 2020 maximum conforming loan limit will be raised to $510,400, up from 2019’s level to $484,350.

 

This marks the fourth straight year that the FHFA has increased the conforming loan limits after not increasing them for an entire decade from 2006 to 2016.

 

 

 

***Freddie Mac: Here’s what to expect from the housing market in 2020 and beyond

Mortgage rates should stay low, leading to another big year for refis

 

Just over a year ago, mortgage rates nearly hit 5%, levels that hadn’t been seen since the early part of this decade. But as we get ready to move into a new decade, mortgage rates are more than a full percentage point lower than that, comfortably back in the 3-4% range.

 

And according to a new forecast from Freddie Mac, mortgage rates should stay that low for the rest of this year and well beyond that.

In Freddie Mac’s newest housing market forecast, the company’s economic and housing research group states that they expect mortgage rates to remain around 3.8% for the rest of 2019 and stay at that level for all of 2020 and 2021.

 

As other recent forecasts and mortgage market data has shown, this year’s unexpectedly low mortgage rates have driven a rise in refinances, as well as a surge in home purchases.

 

A recent forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that 2019 is expected to be the best year for refis since 2016, and the best year for purchase mortgages since 2006.