The three major hurricanes that caused devastation during August and September were largely responsible for the third-quarter increase in mortgage delinquencies. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate of 4.88% was 64 basis points higher than the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey. The 30-day delinquency rate was responsible for 50 basis points of that increase, said Marina Walsh, the MBA’s vice president of industry analysis. Compared with one year ago, delinquencies were 36 basis points higher. “Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused disruptions and destruction in numerous states,” Walsh said. “Florida, Texas, neighboring states, as well…
Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category
Could Capital Gains Tax Reform Reduce Housing Supply?
Posted on December 06, 2017 by Laura Lam
While tax reform will impact everyone who works in mortgage finance to some degree, it may also affect potential homeowners and home sellers via reform to the capital gains tax. Capital gains is a tax that may be levied when an investor sells an asset at a notable profit — selling a home may be an example of this type of taxable transaction. Data and analytics firm Black Knight did a deep dig into the tax reform. One clear finding from Black Knight is that proposed changes to the capital gains exemption on profits from the sale of a home…
Cybercrime Will Increase in 2018
Posted on December 05, 2017 by Laura Lam
If you think 2017 was a bad year for cyberattacks, just wait to see what happens in the coming years, one cybersecurity expert warns. “We’ve only seen the beginning,” said Dr. Eric Cole, CEO of Secure Anchor and former CTO of McAfee and Lockheed Martin. “Cybercrime is big business, it’s a very high-payoff, low-risk crime … we’ve seen nothing yet.” In 2016, U.S. financial losses stemming from cyberattacks totaled $1.33 billion, a 24% increase over the year prior, according to an FBI report. An Accenture study concluded that the number of hacks likely increased by more than 27% between 2016…
Americans Waiting for a Bigger Raise
Posted on November 17, 2017 by Laura Lam
The government said that average hourly earnings rose 2.4% over the past 12 months. That’s a slip from the 2.9% increase reported in September. It remains below the 3% to 3.5% range that many agree is normal in a truly healthy economy. The last time wages were up more than 3% year-over-year was in April 2009, just as the economy was emerging from the depths of the global banking crisis that fueled the Great Recession. Why have wages remained stagnant even though many other indicators of the job market and broader economy look healthy? Unemployment continues to drop. The housing…