Federal Reserve and Economy News

FHFA Establishes New Housing Goals for GSEs

9/3/2010 9:44 AM

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), conservator of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the Enterprises) has established its final housing goals for the Enterprises in 2010-2011. FHFA is required by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to set such goals for targeted segments of the mortgage market The new rules establish three goals f...Read More

Pending Home Sales Rebound from Record Low. What Might Boost Buyer Demand?

9/2/2010 3:25 PM

The National Association of Realtors released the Pending Home Sales Index today. NAR's Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of home purchase contracts that were signed in the monthly reporting period. Once "pending" sales contracts are closed, they are considered an existing home sale. Because the Pending Home Sales index tells us how many...Read More

Fed Hosts Neighborhood Stabilization Summit

9/2/2010 1:07 PM

Community organizers, state and federal government officials, and representatives from banking, research and educations institutions are currently meeting in Washington at a REO and Vacant Properties Summit sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank. The two day conference is focused on examining the problems associated with vacant and abandoned propert...Read More

Recap and Charts: July Construction Spending Data

9/1/2010 1:31 PM

The Census Bureau today released Construction Spending data for July 2010. Residential construction spending includes remodeling, additions, and major replacements to owner occupied properties subsequent to completion of original building. It includes construction of additional housing units in existing residential structures, finishing of basement...Read More

Rising Refi Index Indicative of Pickup in Prepay Speeds on Recent Vintage MBS

9/1/2010 11:35 AM

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 27, 2010. The MBA's loan application survey covers over 50% of all U.S. residential mortgage loan applications taken by retail mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. The data gives economists a snapshot view of consumer...Read More

S&P/Case-Shiller: Home Prices Rise in June. Tax Credit Hangover Ahead

8/31/2010 2:52 PM

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index was up 4.4 percent in the second quarter of 2010, more than recovering from the 2.9 percent loss that was suffered in the first quarter, but the index committee warned that recent housing indicators "point to more ominous signals as tax incentives have ended and foreclosures cont...Read More

HUD Secretary Tiptoes Around Another Tax Credit, Pushes Balanced Housing Policy

8/30/2010 1:11 PM

In the wake of a full week full of bad economic news, especially housing indicators, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan appeared on CNNs Sunday morning news and interview program State of the Union . Host Ed Henry prefaced the interview with July housing numbers - a 27 percent decline in existing home sales and new home ...Read More

Conservator's Report: A Different View of the GSE's Demise

8/30/2010 10:43 AM

The first Conservator's Report on the Enterprises' Financial Performance issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Thursday makes an argument that the Government Sponsored Enterprises' role in the housing market was and still is vital. It also paints a picture of their fall prior to being placed in federal conservatorship in the f...Read More

MBA: 30-Day Delinquencies on the Rise Again

8/27/2010 12:12 PM

While it reported that most delinquency figures dropped substantially in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Delinquency Survey also carried some dishearting harbingers of what might lie ahead. The report showed the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for all loans at 9.85 percent, a drop of 21 basis points from the...Read More

Chicago Fed Explores Effectiveness of Home Buyer Counseling

8/26/2010 9:23 AM

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans pointed directly to a major problem with the economic system in a speech before the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership on Wednesday: a serious deficit in the country's financial literacy. His solution, however is aimed less at eliminating that illiteracy than at incentivizing it...Read More