The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that its Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, CPI-U, declined on a monthly seasonally adjusted basis of 0.3% in the month of November. This is the first decline for the headline index since May 2012. The decline in the CPI-U largely reflects a steep fall in energy prices, which fell by 4.1%… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘household balance sheets’
Household Balance Sheets Continue Improvement in 3rd Quarter
During the third quarter, household balance sheets moved forward with increases in household net worth, declines in debt, and a small drop in the personal savings rate. These are favorable improvements that will help housing demand in 2013. To evaluate the status of household balance sheets, NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and… 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 ›
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 Sheet Repair Takes a Step Back, but Mortgage Debt Down $1 Trillion
NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and sustainable rebound in housing and the economy as a whole: the ratio of household net worth to disposable income (NW/DPI) and the personal savings rate. The NW/DPI ratio can be thought of as a measure of the health of household balance sheets. It tells us… Read More ›
The Connection between Student Loans and Housing
On July 1st, among other changes, interest rates on newly originated Stafford student loans are scheduled to increase from 3.4% to 6.8%. Due to this looming deadline, there has been a lot of attention paid to the rising amount of student loan debt. Some of this commentary goes as far as saying that recent data indicate a bubble exists for… Read More ›
Nearly 40% Wealth Decline from 2007 to 2010: Housing Role Key
The 2010 edition of the Federal Reserve’s survey of household balance sheets, the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), will soon be published. NAHB Economics will take a detailed look at the data at that time, but the Fed has given us a glimpse of the headline findings in a new bulletin paper. The major headline is that median net worth… Read More ›
Deleveraging Continues: Household Balance Sheets Continue Improving Trend at Start of 2012
Update: see also this post on the recent Fed report showing a 40% decline in median household net worth using 2010 data. NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and sustainable rebound in housing and the economy as a whole: the ratio of household net worth to disposable income (NW/DPI) and the personal… Read More ›
Deleveraging Continues: Household Balance Sheets Improved at the End of 2011
NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and sustainable rebound in housing and the economy as a whole: the ratio of household net worth to disposable income (NW/DPI) and the personal savings rate. The NW/DPI ratio can be thought of as a measure of the health of household balance sheets. It tells us… Read More ›
Household Balance Sheets Deteriorate During the Third Quarter
NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and sustainable rebound in housing and the economy as a whole: the ratio of household net worth to disposable income (NW/DPI) and the personal savings rate. The NW/DPI ratio can be thought of a measure of the health of household balance sheets. It tells us how much household wealth exists… Read More ›