Tag Archives: New York Fed

Overall household debt in the U.S. was up by more than $50 billion in Q4. How much of that can be attributed to outstanding mortgage balances?

Although housing starts are not keeping up with the rate of population growth, the fundamentals for housing demand are positive, according to New York Fed President Bill Dudley.

According to the New York Fed, consumers are growing less optimistic about their financial and employment prospects.

While outstanding HELOC balances have plummeted nationwide since 2009, data shows for the most part they are declining only at the 20 largest financial institutions.

Delinquency trends for housing were positive, with foreclosures hitting a new low in the 17 years the New York Fed has been reporting the data.

“Housing prices are rising and the constraint on growth in residential investment now appears to be more on the supply side, as building contractors struggle to mobilize the resources needed to construct more homes,” Dudley said. "The National Association of Home Builders’ index rose in October to the highest level since late 2005. While the housing indicators will likely continue to be volatile on a month-to-month basis, I expect the gradual improvement in the housing sector to continue.”

In New Jersey, 16.2 percent of consumers have seriously delinquent debt (90 days or more overdue) or debt that was in third-party collections, compared with the national rate of 20 percent for the reporting period. New York and Connecticut also reported overall consumer distress rates (14.8 percent and 14.9 percent respectively) lower than the national rate.

The conservatorships were required by law to put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a “sound and solvent condition” but this focus at times conflicted with other public policy objectives, such as the aggressive enforcement of the GSEs of “representations and warranties” whereby the firms “put back” large volumes of defaulted mortgages to their originators, according to the authors.

At a press conference following a speech on the regional economic outlook in Buffalo on Wednesday morning, New York Fed president and CEO William C. Dudley expressed the idea that a rate hike at September's Federal Open Market Committee meeting seemed "less compelling" than it was a few weeks ago following the turbulent stock market activity earlier in the week.

Debt-holding patterns reported by borrowers and those reported by lenders seem to agree more than one would expect, according to a study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.