HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report for April 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 April 2019. Building Permits Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,296,000. This is 0.6 percent (±2.6 percent)* above the revised…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in March 2019
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 4.36 percent for loans closed in late March, down 10 basis points from 4.46 percent in February. The…
ABA: Report Shows Credit Card Market Expanded in Fourth Quarter 2018
Credit card use continued to expand in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest quarterly Credit Card Market Monitor. Compared to the previous quarter, purchase volumes increased for super-prime (+2.7 percent) and prime accounts (+1.4 percent), but declined modestly for subprime accounts (-0.9 percent). On an annual basis, purchase volumes…
FHFA: New Report Details Progress on the 2018 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Scorecard Progress Report today summarizing the 2018 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator: Maintain, Reduce, and Build. Interested parties are invited to provide input on this Report. Feedback can be submitted via FHFA.gov, or to the…
HUD and Census: New Residential Sales Report for March 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 March 2019: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in March 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 692,000. This is 4.5 percent (±17.6 percent)* above the revised February…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.3 Percent in February 2019, Up 4.9 Percent from Last Year
U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.6 percent increase for January 2019 remained unchanged. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by,…
ABA: Reports Shows Consumer Delinquencies Mixed in Fourth Quarter 2018
Consumer credit delinquencies were mixed in last year’s fourth quarter, with delinquencies falling for the composite index of closed-end loans and rising in other open-end loan categories, according to results from the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Overall, delinquencies fell in six of the 11 categories tracked by ABA while five categories rose….
Census Bureau: Housing Vacancy Annual Statistics Released for 2018
These statistics provide vacancy rates, homeownership rates and characteristics of units available for occupancy for the United States, regions, states and the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas. Data for all geographies are available both quarterly and annually. Homeownership rates are also tabulated by age of householder for the United States and regions, and by race/ethnicity…
FDIC: New Podcast Series Chronicles Causes, Responses to Financial Crisis
The FDIC today released a series of podcasts featuring discussions about Crisis and Response: An FDIC History, 2008–2013, the agency’s study of the banking and financial crisis. The podcast series gives listeners a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the crisis, as FDIC officials share their insights into the agency’s decision-making strategies and actions. “The podcasts will allow…
Census Bureau: Webinar on April 9th on Accessing Data in 2019 with Transition to data.census.gov
What: The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a webinar to show participants how to access data using data.census.gov. The Census Bureau has developed a new way of accessing data and is now a few months away from the official launch of data.census.gov and the retirement of American FactFinder in June. Starting in July, data.census.gov will be the primary…