Data & Trends

Federal Reserve: Recent Trends in Small Business Lending and the Community Reinvestment Act

Tim Dore and Traci Mach In this note, we analyze data on small business loan originations collected under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to document heterogeneity in the recovery in small business lending since the financial crisis. Small business loan originations by CRA respondents declined significantly between 2007 and 2010 and, by 2016, have only…

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in November 2017

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from October to November, 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 4.05 percent for loans closed in late November, up 7 basis points from 3.98 percent in October….

CFPB: New Report Released on the State of the Credit Card Market

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) today released its biennial report on the state of the credit card market. The report found that the total amount of credit line, number of accounts, average amount of card debt, and enrollment in online services have all increased over the past several years. The report found also…

Federal Reserve: Assessing the Severity of Rent Burden on Low-Income Families

Jeff Larrimore, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,1 and Jenny Schuetz, Brookings Institution Housing costs are a severe financial burden to many low-income families. The typical renter in the bottom quintile of the income distribution spends more than half of monthly income on rent and has less than $500 dollars left after paying…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.5 Percent in October 2017

U.S. house prices rose in October, up 0.5 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.3 percent increase in September was revised upward to 0.5 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…

Census Bureau: Idaho is Nation’s Fastest-Growing State

Idaho was the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year. Its population increased 2.2 percent to 1.7 million from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s national and state population estimates released today.   Following Idaho for the largest percentage increases in population were: Nevada (2.0 percent), Utah (1.9…

HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity in November 2017

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for November 2017. Building Permits:  Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000. This is 1.4 percent (±1.7 percent)* below the revised…

Census Bureau: High School Completion Rate is Highest in U.S. History

For the first time in U.S. history, 90 percent of the population age 25 and older have completed high school. This is according to new Educational Attainment data released today from the U.S. Census Bureau. “In 1940, less than half of the population age 25 and older had a high school diploma. Over the years…

Census Bureau: Communting Times, Median Rents and Language other than English Use

New American Community Survey Statistics Provide Local Data for Every Community Nationwide DEC. 7, 2017 — The nation experienced an increase in commuting time, median gross rent and a rise in English proficiency among those who spoke another language. These are only a few of the statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012-2016…

HUD: Homelessness Declines in Most Communities with Increases Reported in High-Cost Areas

Lack of affordable rental housing in Los Angeles and NYC driving increases nationally WASHINGTON – Homelessness crept up in the U.S., especially among individuals with long-term disabling conditions according to the latest national estimate by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD’s 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that 553,742…