Tag Archives: HOUSING

The Federal Open Market Committee opted to keep the federal funds rate as-is during its May meeting. The FOMC raised the rate in March from 0.75 to 1 percent. It was largely expected that the FOMC would raise rates at least two more times over the course of 2017.

Home values have been in steady ascent for a long time, but they’re still not where they were before the crash. A new report by Trulia shows housing recovery is not only slow going, it’s been incredibly scattershot. And we might not see the full end of the recession’s effects for almost another decade.

Barclays Capital will pay more than $16 million in remediation and penalties in response to charges brought against the bank by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The charges alleged two Barclays traders misled customers and that the bank failed to properly supervise them. The traders have also agreed to individual settlements of their own.

Though Freddie Mac’s net income was lower this quarter than last, the GSE will still pay $2.2 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury for this quarter, according to its recent financial results report. The agency saw single-family revenues, purchase volumes, and mortgage-related investments all decline for Q1. These declines, according to Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton, were due to steady interest rates and low market spreads

Fannie Mae’s gross mortgage portfolio increased at a compound annualized rate of 0.1 percent in March. In February, it decreased at an annualized rate of nearly 17 percent. Total aggregate unpaid principal balance on the GSE's mortgage portfolio was just under $269 billion—up about $30,000 over the month.

Non-current inventory is at an 11-year low, falling below historical norms for the fourth consecutive month. The states with the highest percentage of non-current loans were largely in the South, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, and West Virginia. States with the lowest share were in the Midwest and Western U.S., including Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Colorado.

Amherst Capital Management LLC announced the addition of Damon Pitler to its private funds leadership team. Serving in the role of Managing Director of Private Funds, Pitler will manage single-family equity and commercial real estate lending portfolios at Amherst.

The average American renter can now purchase a home more expensive than the nation’s median home value, while keeping their monthly housing budget the same. This was true in 37 out of 50 markets analyzed. The current national median rent is $1,416 per month—just enough to handle the monthly costs of a property valued at $289,505, including property taxes, maintenance, and insurance payments.

Home prices continued their steady climb in February. A new report shows prices up over January as well as last year. But this period of sustained growth only happened once before, and things didn’t go well when the train stopped.

The Financial Services Roundtable has appointed Ed DeMarco to head its Housing Policy Council. DeMarco has previously served at FHFA, the Treasury Department, the Milken Institute, and the Social Security Administration. He takes the helm starting June 1.