HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for February 2018
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2018: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in February 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000. This is 0.6 percent (±13.3 percent)* below the revised January…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in February 2018
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from January to February, 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 4.28 percent for loans closed in late February, up 16 basis points from 4.12 percent in January….
Federal Reserve: FEDS Notes – Mobile Banking: A Closer Look at Survey Measures
Ellen A. Merry1 The growing use of smartphones and the Internet has brought rapid change to financial services. These new technologies have given consumers and banks new tools for managing money and changed the customer-bank relationship. They have also raised new concerns about security and access. Mobile banking may help to address some challenges consumers…
Census Bureau: New Population Estimates Show Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Has Largest Growth in the U.S.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area’s 146,000-population increase last year was the most of any metro area and Maricopa County, Ariz., saw a population increase of nearly 74,000 — the most of any county last year — according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2017, population estimates released today. The statistics provide population estimates and…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in January 2018
U.S. house prices rose in January, up 0.8 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 December was revised upward to 0.4 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…
HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report February 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 February 2018. Building Permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000. This is 5.7 percent (±0.7 percent) below the revised…
OCC: Report Shows Mortgage Performance Data Unchanged in Fourth Quarter 2017
Performance of first-lien mortgages remained largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2017 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, Fourth Quarter 2017, showed 94.5 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at…
Census Bureau: New County and Metro/Micro Area Population Estimates Available March 22
The U.S. Census Bureau will offer an embargo period next week for media to view the 2017 population estimates for counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and Puerto Rico municipios. The statistics will be posted to the Census Bureau’s embargo site at 10 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, March 20, for public release at 12:01 a.m….
FDIC: Q&As for Consumers as Part of National Consumer Protection Week
In observance of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) March 4-10, 2018, the FDIC will post a new question and answer (Q&A) on a different banking topic each weekday at www.fdic.gov/ncpw. The five Q&As — covering mobile banking, credit and debit card security precautions, safe deposit boxes, credit reports, and debt collectors — along with other…