Bill Pulte considering crypto in FHFA mortgage qualifications
Crypto could make its way into mortgage applications after reviews from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, agency Director Bill Pulte said on social media Monday.
“We will study the usage pf [sic] cryptocurrency holdings as it relates to qualifying for mortgages,” Pulte wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
If allowed, these holdings would play a role in income and wealth checks at mortgage lenders and would be viewed as financial assets to support a prospective buyer's application.
On Tuesday in response to an X post about using Bitcoin in mortgages, Pulte confirmed again that the agency is “looking strongly at a lot of these things.”
Last week, someone purchased a condominium unit in Miami with Bitcoin. The developers, Ciprés and Rilea Group, said it’s the first "wallet-to-wallet" deal of its kind. The $528,900 in Bitcoin went toward a studio unit in the Rider Residences measuring about 400 square feet.
The transaction used a so-called cold wallet that holds cryptocurrency offline, which was then transferred to the developers' cold wallet. The developers can convert that into cash using an app.
All homeowners association fees will be waived for crypto buyers in the Rider Residences for one year.
HUD moving HQ to Alexandria, Virginia
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will exit Washington, D.C., and move to Alexandria, Virginia, the department announced Wednesday.
Secretary Scott Turner said in a press conference that the change will remove 2,700 employees from “unsafe conditions.” Turner noted the current building's “questionable” air quality, broken HVAC system, “unstoppable” leaks and inoperable elevators.
The department will move into the National Science Foundation building at 2415 Eisenhower Ave. The foundation has used the space since 2017, according to CoStar. It’s unclear where the foundation will go.
“HUD will be the first major government agency headquarters relocation in the Trump administration’s effort to right-size our federal real estate portfolio,” said Michael Peters, commissioner of the General Services Administration.
Peters said the change will save $5 million in deferred maintenance and $56 million in annual operating expenses and that he hopes to see similar moves in the future.
Layoffs in tech markets could drop home prices more
More worker layoffs are on the horizon for California’s tech-centric Bay Area, and the industry’s woes could mean less demand on housing prices from new home builders.
More than 560 jobs will be lost across Intel, Renesas and Boston Scientific, as well as Walmart this summer, according to filings with the state. The Bay Area already lost 3,200 jobs last month, according to the East Bay Times.
In recent earnings call reports, major homebuilders Lennar and KB Home cited these tech-driven markets as their most underperforming, resulting in more home price declines here and sales incentives.
“These markets experienced sensitivity to higher home prices and the macro impact on the technology workforce,” Jon Jaffe, Lennar co-CEO said, referencing Seattle; Portland; the Bay Area; Sacramento, California; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Colorado; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta; and Jacksonville, Florida.
KB Home noted that Seattle and Sacramento faced “more significant headwinds” than its other markets.