Eye On Housing
Anecdotal evidence collected by the Federal Reserve Board’s Summary of Current Conditions, commonly known as the Beige Book, continues to indicate “moderate” economic growth. In its most recent iteration, 10 of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts reported that economic activity in their Districts had expanded at a “moderate” or “modest” pace since the previous Beige Book. The Boston and Chicago… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘finance’
Refinancings Contribute to A Lower Average Mortgage Debt Burden
Mortgage applications eased for the second consecutive week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, was 1.7% lower on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending Feb. 15. In the week ending February 8, the market index fell by 6.4%. The most recent decline in weekly seasonally adjusted mortgage… Read More ›
Securitizations of Household Debt Accounted For Bond Market Growth
U.S. bonds outstanding have grown from $2.5 trillion in 1980 to $36.9 trillion in 2011. Over this period mortgage-related and asset-backed securities accounted for much of this increase. According to Chart 1, the amount of mortgage-related and asset-backed securities outstanding grew from $0.1 trillion in 1980 to $10.2 trillion by 2011. The growth in mortgage-related and asset-backed securities exceeded the… Read More ›
Revolving Credit Growth Moderate, but Underlying Dynamics Showing Signs of Recovery
According to the Federal Reserve Board, consumer credit outstanding, which is composed of credit not secured by real estate, expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.0% to $2.8 trillion in November. This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase in consumer credit outstanding and the second consecutive month that the monthly increase has risen. Following a 0.8% decline in… Read More ›
National Data Suggest Household Deleveraging Of Credit Card Debt
The Federal Reserve Board recently reported that consumer credit outstanding rose in October on a monthly seasonally adjusted basis. An analysis of the release by NAHB illustrated that the expansion in consumer credit outstanding in 2011 and 2012 reflected growth in auto and student loans while credit card debt fell. This decline in credit card debt outstanding had begun prior… Read More ›
Newly Proposed Rules Could Raise Rates on Consumer Mortgages and Price Out Households
On balance, the residential housing market has been improving in recent months, but the pace of recovery is partly restrained by frictions in the mortgage market. Against this backdrop, U.S. regulators have proposed comprehensive new regulatory capital requirements for U.S. banking organizations. These newly proposed rules will serve to implement Basel III, the most recent revision to international bank regulatory… Read More ›
Despite the Recent Increase, Credit Card Debt Outstanding Remains On A Downward Path
According to the Federal Reserve Board, consumer credit outstanding increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.2% in October, an acceleration of 0.8 percentage points over September’s growth rate. Unlike September, the October increase in consumer credit outstanding, which excludes loans secured by real estate, reflects growth in both revolving and non-revolving credit. In October, revolving credit expanded by… Read More ›
Household Balance Sheets Strengthen As Their Debt Outstanding Falls
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that aggregate household debt outstanding was $11.31 trillion on a not seasonally adjusted basis in the third quarter of 2012, $74.00 billion less than the amount outstanding in the second quarter of 2012. In the third quarter of 2012, outstanding debt secured by real estate fell by $135.00 billion from the… Read More ›
Fed Chairman Bernanke on Mortgage Lending
In prepared comments, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Ben Bernanke, addressed the challenges in housing and mortgage markets. Chairman Bernanke’s comments contained a clear message: tight lending standards that emerged after the housing boom are now holding back the housing market recovery and the economy as a whole. “It seems likely at this point that the pendulum has… Read More ›
Consumer Credit Outstanding Climbs as Student Loans Continue To Rise
The Federal Reserve Board reported that consumer credit outstanding rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.0% in September to $2.7 trillion. The over-the-month increase in consumer credit outstanding, which excludes real estate secured loans such as mortgages and home equity lines of credit, reflected a 9.2% rise in non-revolving credit outstanding, 0.1 percentage point higher than the growth… Read More ›