Research

ABA: Report Shows Credit Card Market Moderated in First Quarter 2019

Credit card use moderated in the first quarter of 2019, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest quarterly Credit Card Market Monitor. Compared to the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted purchase volumes declined across risk tiers. Compared to year-ago levels, purchase volumes rose among super-prime (+5.2 percent) and subprime (+4.3 percent) accounts and were essentially unchanged…

Census Bureau: New Report Examines Audience Segments for the 2020 Census

The U.S. Census Bureau released today the 2020 Census Predictive Models and Audience Segmentation Report. The report explains the Census Bureau’s predictions and understandings of how people might self-respond to the 2020 Census. Households will be able to respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail. The report describes research on three aspects…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for June 2019

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 June 2019: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in June 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000. This is 7.0 percent (±15.2 percent)* above the revised May…

Census Bureau: Schedule Released for 2018 American Community Survey Results

The U.S. Census Bureau’s schedule for the release of the 2018 American Community Survey data is as follows:  Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 (embargo begins at 10 a.m. EDT, Sept. 24) 2018 American Community Survey — Statistics on numerous demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics, including language spoken at home, educational attainment, commute to work, employment, mortgage status and…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.1 Percent in May; Up 5.0 Percent from Last Year

U.S. house prices rose in May, 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 0.4 percent increase for April 2019 remained unchanged. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by,…

CFPB: Report on Third-Party Debt Collections Released

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) released a report today that found that more than one-in-four consumers with a credit report have at least one debt in collection by third-party debt collectors. Today’s report, which covers 2004 to 2018, is drawn from the Bureau’s Consumer Credit Panel (CCP), a nationally representative sample of approximately 5…

HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report for June 2019

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 June 2019. Building Permits Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,220,000. This is 6.1 percent (±1.2 percent) below the revised…

OCC: Improvement in Mortgage Performance Reported for First Quarter 2019

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported a slight improvement in the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the first quarter of 2019. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter 2019 showed 96.2 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter,…

ABA: Bank Economists See Continued Economic Growth Amid Rising Risks

The U.S. economic expansion, which has now tied the longest post-war period of prosperity at 120 months, is likely to continue even as downside risks are growing, according to the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association.  The median forecast of 16 chief economists from major North American banks is that economic growth will…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report Released for May 2019

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 May 2019: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in May 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000. This is 7.8 percent (±14.7 percent)* below the revised April…