Audit Report – AUD–2014–009. February 12, 2014, FHFA Oversight of Enterprise Handling of Aged Repurchase Demands “Why OIG Did This Report: “Various entities such as banks often sell mortgage loans to two Government Sponsored Enterprises – the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); taxpayers invested heavily… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Housing
American Community Survey January 2014
“Overview of the American Community Survey (ACS) 2014 Content Review: This document provides the historical context for understanding why we are conducting the ACS 2014 Content Review, the rationale for the rationale for ensuring that only necessary questions are asked of the public, and how the public can participate in this review. Milestones – ACS Content Review… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Child Welfare, Homeowners Insurance, Imminet Danger Pay
CHILD WELFARE – Federal Agencies Can Better Support State Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse by School Personnel, GAO-14-42, Jan 27, 2014 HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE – Multiple Challenges Make Expanding Private Coverage Difficult, GAO-14-179, Jan 30, 2014 IMMINENT DANGER PAY – Actions Needed Regarding Pay Designations in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility, GAO-14-230R, Jan 30, 2014 Continue Reading
CFPB – Servicemembers, you have new mortgage protections in 2014
Via Holly Petraeus, CFPB – “It’s no secret that the housing crisis in recent years was particularly hard on military families. Servicemembers and their spouses at installations around the country, and even abroad, cited problems with mortgages as some of their most serious financial challenges. But now, the CFPB has written new mortgage rules that can… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Critical Infrastructure Protection
SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT – Information on Mortgage Protections and Related Education Efforts, GAO-14-221, Jan 28, 2014: “The number of servicemembers with mortgages eligible for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) mortgage protections is unknown because servicers have not collected this information in a comprehensive manner. Based on the limited and nongeneralizeable information that GAO obtained from the… Continue Reading
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices – November 2013
Winter Shows No Signs of Cooling in Home Prices According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices: “Data through November 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed that the 10-City and 20-City Composites increased 13.8% and 13.7% year-over-year. Dallas posted its… Continue Reading
Cleveland Fed – Gentrification and Financial Health
Economic Trends: Gentrification and Financial Health, by Daniel Hartley, November 6, 2013. “Gentrification is a form of neighborhood change. While it does not have a precise definition, it is commonly associated with an increase in income, rising home prices or rents, and sometimes with changes in the occupational mix and educational level of neighborhood residents. Gentrification is… Continue Reading
The Equality of Opportunity Project – The status of economic mobility
The Equality of Opportunity Project: “Is America the “Land of Opportunity”? In two recent studies, we find that: (1) Upward income mobility varies substantially within the U.S. [summary][paper] Areas with greater mobility tend to have five characteristics: less segregation, less income inequality, better schools, greater social capital, and more stable families. (2) Contrary to popular perception, economic mobility has… Continue Reading
The Effect of Fundamental Housing Policy Reforms on Program Participation
The Effect of Fundamental Housing Policy Reforms on Program Participation, Edgar O. Olsen, University of Virginia – Department of Economics. January 14, 2014 “This paper estimates the effects of alternative reforms of the current system of low-income housing assistance on the number of people of various types who would receive assistance. The reforms are designed to eliminate the… Continue Reading
MIT – Report On the State of Health and Urbanism
“A newly published research report from MIT’s Center for Advanced Urbanism (CAU) highlights the complexity of the issue. Produced in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, the document examines an array of public health matters in eight major metropolitan areas in the United States, and suggests a wide array of possible remedies, from better… Continue Reading
UK Guardian – Demand for food stamps soars as cuts sink in and shelves empty
More working Americans are lining up at emergency food banks and going hungry, as cuts to those programmes take effect, by Karen McVeigh. “Deep cuts to the US food stamps programme, designed to keep low-income Americans out of hunger in the aftermath of the economic recession, have forced increasing numbers of families such as theirs to rely… Continue Reading
Census Report – Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 2012 Highlights
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): 2012 Highlights. U.S. Census Bureau. Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division (SEHSD). Small Area Estimates Branch (SAEB) . Issued December 2013. “This document presents 2012 data released by the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program of the U.S. Census Bureau in December of 2013. The SAIPE program produces single-year poverty statistics for… Continue Reading
