- The Federal Reserve Bank of NY’s Center for Microeconomic Data has released its 3rd quarter Household Debt and Credit Report which shows that Mortgage debt, the largest component of household debt, increased in by $144 billion since the 2nd quarter of 2015. Balances on Home Equity Lines of Credit decreased by $7 billion.
- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, proposing that advocating upfront risk sharing targets be set for 2016. This proposal is prompted by FHFA’s near doubling of insurance fees, which are necessary to reduce the risks borne by the taxpayer when debtors default. The MBA is advocating for private opportunity to compete in the insurance of these loans – which they say will lead to lower fees for borrowers as well.
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released its Pending Home Sales Index for October which inches up .2% to sustain 14 consecutive months of increase. NAR also is predicting another housing boom for 2016.
Tag Archives: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Thursday’s Advocacy & Think Tank Round-Up
- Affordable Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. (A Call to Invest in Our Neighborhooods) has released both a National Fact Sheet and State specific Fact Sheets on the impact of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Impact (LIHTC), which it characterizes the LIHTC as “the most effective affordable housing production tool.” The National Fact sheet indicates among other things that 2,798,776 units were developed or preserved via the LIHTC. The New York State Fact Sheet, in particular, indicates that 2,357,234 New York households pay more than half of their income in rent (a data point which is included for all states).
- The New York Federal Reserve’s interactive Home Price Index Tool maps overall changes in home prices across localities of the United States as compared to the previous month – the data is current from June 2007 through June 2015.
- The Urban Institute has published, Charted: How Housing Policy Impacts Inequality in which it charted a correlation between housing benefits and income inequality. Their findings indicate that when these benefits go to the well of in the form of the mortgage interest deduction and real estate tax deduction inequality increases. On the other hand, federal housing benefits to the poor decrease inequality.
