Research

Census Bureau: Census Response Outreach Area Mapper Web Application Released

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released the Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM) web application. This interactive map makes it easier to identify areas that typically have low response rates for censuses and surveys. Community planners and local officials can use this information to plan, focus and allocate resources for encouraging response to the 2020 Census….

SBA: U.S. Census Bureau to Conduct New Business Survey, Combine and Replace Previous Surveys

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct a new business survey, the Annual Business Survey, which will combine and replace previous Census surveys: the five-year Survey of Business Owners, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, and the Business R & D and Innovation for Microbusinesses survey.  The Census Bureau expects the proposed changes will streamline costs,…

Census Bureau: 44 Percent of Custodial Parents Receive the Full Amount of Child Support

Approximately two-thirds (69.3 percent) of custodial parents who were due child support received some payments from noncustodial parents, while only 43.5 percent reported receiving the full amount of child support due. This latest information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2015 report. The report includes demographic and…

CFPB: Latest List of Consumer Reporting Companies Available

You may know that your credit record affects your ability to get an affordable loan, a job, an apartment, or many other essentials of daily life. But, do you know where and how to actually request your credit report and what you can do once you order your consumer reports? Over the past few years,…

ABA Report Shows Credit Card Market Continued to Expand in Third Quarter

The credit card market continued to expand in the third quarter of 2017 as monthly purchase volumes edged up across risk tiers, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest quarterly Credit Card Market Monitor. On an annual basis, purchase volumes rose 3.3 percent for prime accounts and 4.3 percent for super-prime accounts, but fell 3.9…

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

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 December 2017: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in December 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000. This is 9.3 percent (±11.0 percent) below the revised November…

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in December 2017

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from November to December, 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 4.08 percent for loans closed in late December, up 3 basis points from 4.05 percent in November….

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.4 Percent in November 2017

U.S. house prices rose in November, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI).  The previously reported 0.5 percent increase in October was revised upward to 0.6 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…

ABA: Bank Economists See Solid Economic Growth Supported by Tax Reform

The U.S. economy will continue to grow through 2019, surpassing the longest previous period of economic prosperity in the post-war era, according to the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association. “This expansion has already spanned nine years, supported by strengthening labor markets, low interest rates, and a late-cycle resurgence in business investment,” said…

Census Bureau: New 2012-2016 American Community Products Available

The U.S. Census Bureau has scheduled for the release of the 2012-2016 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample, the 2012-2016 variance replicate tables and the Puerto Rico Community Survey. The Public Use Microdata Sample files provide a 5 percent sample of the U.S. population for users to create their own tabulations. The 2012-2016 variance…