FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.1 Percent in April 2018
U.S. house prices rose in April, up 0.1 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.1 percent increase in March was revised upward to 0.2 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…
FHFA: Foreclosure Preventions Top 4.1 Million In 2018 First Quarter
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its first quarter 2018 Foreclosure Prevention Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 68,378 foreclosure prevention actions in the first quarter of 2018, bringing the total number of foreclosure prevention actions to 4,108,636. The Enterprises’ serious delinquency rate dropped to 1.1 percent…
ABA: Bank Economists See Robust Economy Pushing Unemployment Rate to New Lows
This year the U.S. economy will enjoy its strongest growth this cycle, pushing unemployment to the lowest rate in nearly half a century, according to the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association. The consensus of 16 chief economists from among the largest North American banks is that the economy, entering a tenth year…
FEDS Notes: Where’s the Money Going? The Importance of Accounting for Rent Payments in Measuring a Household’s Financial Obligations
Andrew C. Chang, Joanne W. Hsu, Sarah J. Pack, and Michael G. Palumbo 1 According to the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), in 2016 about 12 percent of American families’ monthly income was needed to cover payments associated with the various types of debt they owed–mostly mortgages, car loans, student loans, and…
Census Bureau: New 2017 Annual Business Survey Announced
The Annual Business Survey (ABS) is a new joint project between the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The ABS is a new survey that replaces three existing surveys: the five-year Survey of Business Owners (SBO) for employer businesses, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE), and the Business Research and Development and…
HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report in May 2018
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 May 2018. Building Permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,301,000. This is 4.6 percent (±1.4 percent) below the revised…
FDIC: Regulatory Relief Guidance for Financial Institution in Areas of Hawaii Affected by Volcanic Eruptions and Earthquakes
Summary: The FDIC announced a series of steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Hawaii affected by volcanic eruption and earthquakes. Statement of Applicability to Institutions with Total Assets under $1 Billion: This Financial Institution Letter applies to all FDIC-supervised financial institutions. Highlights: Volcanic eruption and earthquakes…
OCC: Mortgage Performance Unchanged in First Quarter 2018
Performance of first-lien mortgages remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2018 compared with a year earlier, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) quarterly report on mortgages. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter 2018, showed 95.6 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the…
CDFI Fund: CDFI 2018 Certification Reports Due by July 31st
Are you the Authorized Representative of a currently certified CDFI? If so, don’t forget that in order to maintain your organization’s certification status you must complete and submit the Annual Certification and Data Collection Report (ACR) for Report Year 2018. All Authorized Representatives for certified CDFIs should have received an e-mail notification from the CDFI…