Eye On Housing
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its May meeting. Although the communication from the Fed did not explicitly indicate that they are done tightening, language used in their statement signals the Fed is moving toward a more data-dependent posture, albeit one that retains a hawkish bias…. Read More ›
According to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, consumer credit (ex-real estate) grew at a seasonal adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 6.8% in the third quarter of 2022. Revolving debt increased at a 12.9% rate, more than double the pace of nonrevolving debt (+4.9%). Credit card interest rates reached 16.3%, the highest level since the inception of the… Read More ›
In the first quarter of 2022, the Federal Reserve Board’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) on Bank Lending Practices showed a significant net share of banks reporting more relaxed lending standards and weaker demand for most categories of residential real estate (RRE) loans. “Significant” net shares of banks reported weaker demand for all RRE loan categories other than subprime… Read More ›
Consumer prices continued to accelerate in January due to higher food, electricity and housing costs. This was the largest year-over-year gain since February 1982. This higher-than-expected inflation may push the Federal Reserve to become more aggressive and raise the federal funds rate at a faster pace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose… Read More ›
The latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly application surveys shows a decline for refinancing and an increase in mortgage purchasing. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate increased, averaging close to 3.2 percent for the month and was 3.16 percent in the latest week. In the latest week, total mortgage applications, as proxied by the MBA’s Market Composite Index, decreased by 2.8… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve has supported the housing market during the virus crisis, the 2020 recession, and the subsequent, ongoing recovery via asset-backed purchases (among other tools), including $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed security (MBS) purchases. These MBS purchases have held interest rates lower than they otherwise would have been. Beginning in November, the Fed will reduce the monthly volume of… Read More ›
Today’s Federal Open Market Committee announcement did not provide an explicit reference to an expected tapering of purchases of Treasury ($80 billion a month) and mortgage-backed ($40 billion a month) securities. In addition, as part of its ongoing accommodative policy stance, the Fed held its benchmark target rate near zero percent. In Chairman Powell’s press conference remarks, he stated, “The… Read More ›
The latest results from the Federal Reserve’s Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States, i.e., the “Flow of Funds”, show that, in the first quarter of 2021, the aggregate market value of all owner-occupied real estate in the United States registered the largest numerical quarterly increase in the last 20 years’ worth of data. From $32.84 trillion in the fourth… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve Board recently released its Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households. The report provided results from the responses to the 2019 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), as well as from responses to a follow-up survey conducted in April 2020. Surveyed items included income, employment, dealing with expenses, banking and credit, housing, education, and retirement…. Read More ›
Due to the spreading economic damage caused by mitigation efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve provided an immediate round of monetary policy stimulus. The policy announcement included: A cut in the federal funds rate to a top rate of 0.25% The discount rate was effectively lowered from 1.25% to 0.25% as a means of ensuring… Read More ›