Data & Trends

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in October 2017

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from September to October, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 3.98 percent for loans closed in late October, down 2 basis points from 4.00 percent in September….

Federal Reserve: FEDS | Bank Failures, Capital Buffers and Exposure to the Housing Market Bubble

Bank Failures, Capital Buffers, and Exposure to the Housing Market Bubble (PDF) Gazi I. Kara and Cindy M. Vojtech Abstract: We empirically document that banks with greater exposure to high home price-to-income ratio regions in 2005 and 2006 have higher mortgage delinquency and charge-off rates and significantly higher probabilities of failure during the last financial crisis…

Federal Reserve: FEDS | On Intergenerational Immobility – Evidence that Adult Credit Health Reflects the Childhood Environment

March 2017 (Revised November 2017) On Intergenerational Immobility: Evidence that Adult Credit Health Reflects the Childhood Environment (PDF) Sarena Goodman, Alice Henriques, and Alvaro Mezza Abstract: Using a novel dataset that links socioeconomic background to future credit, postsecondary education, and federal student loan and grant records, we document that, even though it is not and…

FHFA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.4 Percent in Third Quarter 2017

U.S. house prices rose 1.4 percent in the third quarter of 2017 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).   House prices rose 6.5 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017.  FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.3 percent from August. The…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for October 2017

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for October 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in October 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the Department…

Census Bureau: Services Sector Revenue Rises to $15.5 Trillion

Revenue generated by service sector firms increased 4.4 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Service Annual Survey (SAS). Revenue for all service sectors covered by the program is estimated at $15.5 trillion for 2016. This is the first SAS release to include information for the North American…

Census Bureau: More Children Live With Just Their Fathers Than a Decade Ago

The percentage of children living with one parent who live with just their father saw an increase from 12.5 percent in 2007 to 16.1 percent in 2017. That’s according to new statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 America’s Families and Living Arrangements table package. “A higher percentage of children living with one parent live…

FHFA: Total Refinance Volume Ticks Up Slightly in Third Quarter 2017

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that more than 362,934 refinances were completed in the third quarter of 2017, compared with 356,707 in the second quarter.  FHFA’s third quarter Refinance Report also shows that more than 6,913 loans were refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), bringing the total number of HARP…

Census Bureau: Webinar on November 28th on Release of 2012-2016 ACS Five-Year Estimates

What: The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a webinar on Nov. 28, 2017, in advance of the Dec. 7 release of the 2012-2016 American Community Survey five-year estimates. Members of the media will have embargo access to the information beginning Dec. 5. The webinar will show participants how to access the data and compare geographies…

Census Bureau: Declining Mover Rate Driven by Renters

The rate at which renters moved in 2017 was at a historic low of 21.7 percent, compared to 35.2 percent in 1988, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released today from the Current Population Survey. However, renters still moved at a higher rate than owners (21.7 percent compared with 5.5 percent, respectively). “Although renters…