On Our Radar

American Banker, May 21, 2023, Banks Now Offer Payday-Loan Alternatives. How Many People Use Them? Over the last few years, several large and regional banks have started offering small-dollar loans to their cash-strapped customers. Now the question is: How many Americans are using the products? A new survey — conducted by the Online Lenders Alliance, […]

American Banker, May 12, 2023, Fed Nominees Include First Latina Pick And Jefferson For Vice Chair A former administrator at Davidson College, Jefferson has held several prominent positions in academia, served as a staff economist for the Fed and served on the advisory board of the Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute at the Federal Reserve

The Washington Post, May 7, 2023, City Planners Targeted A Black Community For Heavy Pollution. Can The Damage Be Undone? This Black enclave — not far from the stately Bay Bridge and just downslope from the mansions of the East Bay hills — is sandwiched by three major freeways. Each day, the trucks and cars

Vox, May 1, 2023, The Fight To Make It Harder For Landlords To Evict Their Tenants In most US communities, renters have very little assurance of staying in their homes long term if they’d like to. Landlords can hike rents, evict tenants through court with little difficulty, or simply choose to not renew their lease.

WBAL News, April 23, 2023, Maryland Housing Market Causing Stress For Buyers And Sellers Miller said monthly payments for buyers have doubled. The Housing Report shows homes under contract fell 22% to $6,804. Active inventory dropped 8.6% to 7,445 units, while the number of new listings entering the market dropped by 34% to 6,855. All

American Banker, April 24, 2023, Redlining Probes Created Millions For Originations: DOJ The Department of Justice has reached almost $85 million in redlining settlements with financial institutions since 2021, according to a top prosecutor last week in an event at Seton Hall Law School in Newark, New Jersey. The DOJ since 2021 has reached six redlining agreements,

The Hill, April 25, 2023, Home Prices Rise For The First Time In Months As Spring Fever Hits Housing Market Data released by the Commerce Department last week showed an 0.8 percent decrease in housing starts in March, led by a decline in construction of new multifamily units, which fell by 6.7 percent. Then after more

USA Today, April 23, 2023, Mortgage Fees Are Changing For Homebuyers Next Month. Here’s What You Should Know. Starting May 1, upfront fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be adjusted because of changes in the Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs), the fees that vary from borrower to borrower based on their credit

Brookings, April 19, 2023, Pandemic-Driven Population Declines In Large Urban Areas Are Slowing Or Reversing, Latest Census Data Shows The first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the populations of many of the nation’s largest cities and metropolitan areas. During the peak pandemic year (July 2020 through July 2021), national population growth dropped to a

The Washington Post, April 19, 2023, California Needs More Homes. So Why Are These Sitting Vacant? The empty houses belong to the state’shighway authority, which bought them decades ago to make way for an extension of Interstate 710 that never got built. Now, what began as failed transportation policy has become failed housing policy, exacerbated

The Hill, April 19, 2023, Single-Family Building Is Picking Up. But Can It Help Solve The Housing Shortage? Commerce Department data released on Tuesday showed an overall 0.8 percent decrease in housing starts in March, led by a decline in construction of new multifamily units — buildings with five or more units — which fell by 6.7 percent.

American Banker, April 14, 2023, U.S. Needs ‘A Viable Pipeline For The Creation Of New Banks,’ Says Fed’s Bowman “We need a viable pipeline for the creation of new banks in the United States,” Bowman said, “There are troubling indications that we are falling short on this front, with a continued decline in the number

CPR News, April 17, 2023, Life With 11 Roommates: Why Housing Co-Ops Appeal To Coloradans Looking For Change Hall was in charge of Mango Manor’s contribution to the potluck, which included a dish dubbed “The Amazing Mango.” It consists of broccoli and tofu in a special peanut sauce. Despite being a relatively new resident of

Nebraska Examiner, April 17, 2023, Nebraska’s First Veterans Home Campus To Begin Transformation Into Modern Housing Developer White Lotus Group is to launch construction this month at what will become Liberty Campus — an example of one Nebraska city’s efforts to help counter a statewide affordable housing gap that officials have labeled a crisis.

CNBC News, April 17, 2023, Apple Launches Its Savings Account With 4.15% Interest Rate The company said in a press release that all Daily Cash rewards earned through the Apple Card will automatically be deposited to the savings account. Daily Cash is the Apple Card reward program that offers up to 3% back on purchases. Users can