Census Bureau: The Digital Divide – Broadband Usage Across the Nation
States on the Pacific Coast and most of those in the Northeast such as New Hampshire and Massachusetts had higher levels of broadband internet use compared to the national average (77 percent), according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report on Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2015. These tended to be the…
Census Bureau: Webinar on Release of 2016 American Community Survey Statistics
What: The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a webinar on Sept. 7 from 1-2 p.m. in advance of the Sept. 14 release of the 2016 American Community Survey statistics. The webinar will show participants how to access new data and online resources from the 2016 American Community Survey. Attendees will also learn about changes related…
Census Bureau: New Report on the Characteristics of Female Veterans
A new report on the characteristics of female veterans released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that early-career aged female veterans (18 to 34 years old) were more likely to be employed, married and have a child in their home than early-career aged female nonveterans. This report, which uses 2015 American Community Survey data,…
Federal Reserve: Improving the 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage
FEDS (Finance and Economics Discussion Series) 2017-90 | August 2017 Wayne Passmore and Alexander H. von Hafften Abstract: The 30-year fixed-rate fully amortizing mortgage (or “traditional fixed-rate mortgage”) was a substantial innovation when first developed during the Great Depression. However, it has three major flaws. First, because homeowner equity accumulates slowly during the first decade,…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in July 2017
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from June to July, 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 3.99 percent for loans closed in late July, down 1 basis point from 4.00 percent in June….
HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Home Sales July 2017
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for July 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in July 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, according to estimates released jointly today by…
FHFA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.6 Percent in Second Quarter 2017
Washington, D.C. – U.S. house prices rose 1.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.6 percent from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was up 0.1 percent…
FHFA: Refinance Volume Continued to Slow in Second Quarter 2017
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that more than 356,709 refinances were completed in the second quarter of 2017, compared with 510,074 in the first quarter. FHFA’s second quarter Refinance Report also shows that more than 9,700 loans were refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, bringing the total number of HARP refinances…
Census Bureau: Upcoming Online News Conference to Announce Report Findings on Poverty, Income and Health Insurance
What: The U.S. Census Bureau will hold an online news conference to announce the findings from three reports: Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2016, and The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2016. The income and poverty report provides national-level statistics from the Current Population Survey Annual Social…
HUD & Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity in July 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 July 2017. Building Permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,223,000. This is 4.1 percent (±0.9 percent) below the revised…