Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Ownership More Affordable Than Renting In Nearly Two Thirds Of U.S. Housing Markets

Thu, 07 January 2021  |  housing interest rates 

Owning a median-priced three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 572, or 63 percent of the 915 U.S. counties according to the new 2021 Rental Affordability Report from ATTOM Data Solutions. That has happened even though median home prices have increased more than average rents over the past year in 83 percent of those counties and have risen more than wages in almost two-thirds of the nation.

Home ownership is more affordable in almost two-thirds of the country following a year when the impact of declining interest rates helped counteract h... Read More

Private Sector Employment Decreased by 123,000 Jobs in December

Wed, 06 January 2021  |  employment small business 

Private sector employment decreased by 123,000 jobs from November to December according to the December ADP National Employment Report®. The report, which is derived from ADP's actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Job losses were concentrated in large businesses with 1,000+ employees which lost an estimated 169,000 employees. Businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees generally reported pos... Read More

Millennials Rush to Refinance as Interest Rates Hit Record Lows

Wed, 06 January 2021  |  housing mortgages millennials 

Refinance activity climbed to 45% of all loans closed by millennial borrowers in November 2020, up three percentage points from the month prior, and the highest percentage since May 2020, according to the latest Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker. Year-over-year, refinance share – the percentage of all loans closed by millennial borrowers during the month that were refinances – increased by 14 percentage points. The continued increase in refinance activity happened as the average interest rate on all 30-year... Read More

Home Value Disparities Between Races Shrinking

Tue, 05 January 2021  |  housing demographics 

Typical values for Black- and Latinx-owned homes still lag behind overall U.S. home values, but the gap is narrowing. A new Zillow® analysis shows homes owned by Black and Latinx households are worth 16.2% and 10.2% less, respectively, than the typical U.S. home -- gaps that have closed by about 4 percentage points from their widest points following the Great Recession. Homes owned by non-Hispanic white and Asian families, meanwhile, have typical values 2.9% and 3.7% higher than the typical U.S... Read More

Consumers Opting for Larger Vehicles During Pandemic

Tue, 05 January 2021  |  spending automotive 

Consumers in the financial position to buy a new car during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic aren't holding back on upsizing their purchases in favor of bigger vehicles with more amenities. According to the car shopping experts at Edmunds, the average down payment for a new vehicle climbed to $4,734 in the fourth quarter, compared to $4,458 in the third quarter and $4,329 a year ago. The average amount financed for new vehicle purchases increased as well, climbing to $35,373 in the fourth quarter compared to $34,692 in the third quarter and $33,525 a year ago. And, Edmunds data reveals... Read More

2020 Bankruptcy Filings Lowest in 35 years

Tue, 05 January 2021  |  bankruptcy 

According to new data released by Epiq Systems, 2020 had the lowest number in bankruptcy filings since 1986 with a total of 529,068 filings across all chapters.

For December, the total new U.S. bankruptcy filings across all chapters was 34,304 for the month, the lowest monthly total since January 2006. The category that continues to grow year-over-year is commercial Chapter 11 filings, which were up 29% with 7,128 new filings in 2020 compared to 5,518 in 2019.

“The peak in Chapter 11 filings for Q2 and Q3 is due to preexisting distressed companies coupled with the on... Read More

Prev  Next