Update 10/29/2019

California Crisis

 

More than 25 million people in California are under red flag warnings as firefighters continue to battle blazes throughout the state. The10 active wildfires, including the Kincade Fire, Tick Fire, and Getty Fire, have caused thousands of evacuations and power outages. The Kincade Fire had blackened over 74,000 acres across parts of Sonoma County’s picturesque wine country, destroying around 100 homes and other structures. In Los Angeles, the Getty Fire had charred more than 600 acres in the hills around Interstate 405, near some of the city’s most expensive homes, by mid-afternoon, destroying eight structures and damaging five others. (CNN/Reuters)

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More than 18,700 hotel rooms across 112 new developments are under construction or being planned in the five boroughs of New York, according to NYC & Company.

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HELOC

The once-popular Home equity line of credit loan Americans use to finance home renovations and college tuition is slowly dying, slashing a lucrative source of revenue for the nation’s largest banks. Rapidly climbing property prices between 2003-6 led homeowners to use their homes as piggy banks, fueling consumer spending. (Bloomberg)

Lending Update

Lenders extended $700 billion of home loans in the July-to-September quarter, the most in 14 years. A decline in mortgage rates often takes longer to boost home purchases than refinancing because people need to shop for a home first. (WSJ)