FHFA: House Prices Rose 1.3 Percent in Fourth Quarter 2019; Up 5.1 Percent from 2018
U.S. house prices rose in the fourth quarter of 2019, up 1.3 percent according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 5.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the fourth quarter of 2019. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.6 percent from November. “Growth in U.S. home prices stabilized at the end…
FHFA: CFPB and FHFA Release Additional Data from the National Survey of Mortgage Originations for Public Use
Details Borrower’s Experiences Obtaining a Mortgage The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today released additional loan-level data for public use collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO). The data provide insights into borrowers’ experiences in getting a residential mortgage. The NSMO is a component of the National Mortgage…
HUD: New Report Explores Problem of “Credit Invisibility” Among HUD-Assisted Households
First-of-its-kind study examines reporting rent payments to credit reporting agencies Landlords and property management groups regularly use credit checks to make determinations about renting to potential tenants and many employers incorporate credit checks in hiring decisions. A low credit score or credit invisibility can thusly limit housing choice and employment opportunity for low-income families. A…
Census Bureau: Less Than One Month Until U.S. Households Receive 2020 Census Invitations
Invitations to Respond to the 2020 Census Questionnaire to Be Mailed to Households Throughout the Country Between March 12 and March 20, invitations to participate in the 2020 Census will start arriving in households across the country. “The Census Bureau is ready for the nation to respond next month,” said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven…
HUD: Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report Issued
During the North Carolina “Opportunity Now” Summit, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson issued a report to the President on behalf of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (“Council”), of which Secretary Carson is the Chair. This report includes 180 action items that have already been undertaken by the Council…
Census Bureau: Census Business Builder Updated to Version 3.0
Now Includes Shapefile Download and Upload The U.S. Census Bureau released an update to Census Business Builder (CBB) Version 3.0. The updated version now utilizes the latest Esri technology that improves the user experience and adds new functionality. Functionality updates for both the Small Business Edition (SBE) and the Regional Analyst Edition (RAE) include: Users can now browse data for every…
FDIC: Comprehensive History of Risk-Based Pricing Published
First in a series of staff studies chronicles 85-year evolution of deposit insurance premiums In the first of a series of staff studies to be released to the public, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today published a comprehensive history of how the agency assessed banks to build FDIC’s now 85-year-old Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF)…
ABA: Report Shows Credit Card Use Expanded in Third Quarter 2019
Credit card use increased in the third quarter of 2019, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest quarterly Credit Card Market Monitor. Seasonally adjusted purchase volumes rose among prime (+0.8% or $3.85/month) and super-prime (+0.2% or $1.07/month) accounts compared to the previous quarter, consistent with solid consumer spending growth during the same period, while subprime…
Federal Reserve: Do Minorities Pay More for Mortgages?
Read the full paper here. Abstract: We test for racial discrimination in the prices charged by mortgage lenders. We construct a unique dataset where we observe all three dimensions of a mortgage’s price: the interest rate, discount points, and fees. While we find statistically significant gaps by race and ethnicity in interest rates, these gaps…
Federal Reserve: Evaluating the Success of President Johnson’s War on Poverty
Revisiting the Historical Record Using a Full-Income Poverty Measure Read the full report here. Abstract: We evaluate progress in President’s Johnson’s War on Poverty. We do so relative to the scientifically arbitrary but policy relevant 20 percent baseline poverty rate he established for 1963. No existing poverty measure fully captures poverty reductions based on the…