Data & Trends

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in March

Washington, D.C. – Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from February to March, 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 4.12 percent for loans closed in late March, down 15 basis points from 4.27…

HUD: New Residential Sales in March 2017 Report

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 March 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in March 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000, according to estimates released jointly today by…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in February

Washington, D.C. – U.S. house prices rose in February, 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 lack of change in January was revised upward to a 0.2 percent increase. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales…

HUD: New Residential Construction Activity for March Announced

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for March 2017: BUILDING PERMITS Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,260,000. This is 3.6 percent (±2.8 percent) above the revised…

ABA: New Survey – Americans Confident in Their Financial Literacy Skills

ABA Foundation offers questions to help consumers see how they stack up WASHINGTON — Nearly two-thirds of adults (62 percent) consider their own financial literacy to be good or excellent, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association. However, their perception of the average American isn’t quite…

ABA: Survey Shows Regulatory Burden Continues to Restrict Mortgage Lending

WASHINGTON — Ninety-five percent of respondents to the American Bankers Association’s 24th annual Real Estate Lending Surveydescribed regulation as having a negative impact on business production and consumer credit availability. The survey, released today at ABA’s Real Estate Lending Conference in Orlando, revealed that 91 percent of the typical bank’s mortgage loans made last year…

FHFA: Report Details Progress on the 2016 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Progress Report today summarizing the 2016 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator: Maintain, Reduce, and Build. The Progress Report details efforts made to address borrower impediments to credit access while transitioning from crisis…

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in February

Washington, D.C. – 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 4.27 percent for loans closed in late February, up 5 basis points from 4.22…

FHFA: Fourth Quarter Foreclosure Prevention Report | Foreclosure Preventions Surpass 3.8 Million

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its fourth quarter Foreclosure Prevention Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 189,911 foreclosure prevention actions in 2016, bringing the total number of troubled homeowners helped since conservatorships to more than 3.8 million. Of the 3.8 million foreclosure prevention…

HUD: New Residential Sales in February 2017 Reported

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 February 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in February 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000, according to estimates released jointly today by…