News Archives

Rural Home-Purchase Loans Grow at Faster Rate Than Urban

October 6, 2015/in Blog Posts

by Keith Wiley

The number of rural loan applications fell last year because of a big decline in refinancing. But loan applications for home purchases grew by nearly 7 percent, even higher than the national increase. Also on the rise in rural areas were higher-interest loans, which are especially common for manufactured housing purchases.

Read the Complete blog post at The Daily Yonder

by Keith Wiley

The number of rural loan applications fell last year because of a big decline in refinancing. But loan applications for home purchases grew by nearly 7 percent, even higher than the national increase. Also on the rise in rural areas were higher-interest loans, which are especially common for manufactured housing purchases.

Recently released data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) signals a changing home finance market across the nation and rural America too. The 2015 HMDA figures, which reflect calendar year 2014 mortgage lending applications, show a substantial nationwide decline in overall mortgage activity. In fact, the total number of HMDA reported loan records in 2014 was the lowest level in the past 17 years.

Read the Complete blog post at The Daily Yonder

The Daily Yonder on Rural Homelessness

October 1, 2015/in Announcements

An article in The Daily Yonder “Rural and Homeless: ‘I Had No Place to Go’”, describes the work of the Corner Haven Crisis Center in addressing rural homelessness in Eastern Kentucky. Statistics on national rural homelessness rates are included in the piece.

Rural IMPACT Areas

September 30, 2015/in Announcements

USDA is leading a cross-agency effort to combat child poverty in rural areas with the Administration’s “Rural Impact” effort. Ten rural and tribal communities from across the country will participate in the demonstration program.

New Protections for Farmworkers Applying Pesticides

September 29, 2015/in Announcements

New protections for farmworkers applying pesticides are provided in an EPA rule released September 19. It enhances requirements for training, protective equipment, and more. It also requires workers applying pesticides to be 18 or over.

New CFPB Final Rule

September 22, 2015/in Announcements

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule September 21 on mortgage lending by small creditors. Among other changes, it expands the definitions of small creditors and rural places in the CFPB’s mortgage regulations.

Nearly Half of U.S. Renters are Cost Burdened

September 22, 2015/in Announcements

Nearly half of all renters in the U.S. are cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to a new report from Enterprise Community Partners and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The HOME Program in the News

September 21, 2015/in Announcements

Two recent opinion pieces discuss the problems with proposed cuts to the HOME program. The LA Times explains how the decrease is already hurting California, and Roll Call’s Beltway Insiders details the value of the program nationally.

HAC Loan Fund Borrower Honored

September 11, 2015/in Announcements

Long-time HAC Loan Fund borrower Florida Home Partnership was recently ranked #16 in production of all Builders in Tampa Bay in 2014 by Tampa Bay Business Journal. This is the third time they have received this honor on the last 4 years.

USDA Secretary Urges Greater Philanthropic Investment in Rural

September 10, 2015/in Announcements

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed frustration with the decrease in philanthropic investment in rural America during a conversation with the National Rural Assembly. The Secretary urged foundations to increase rural giving and investment in rural communities.

Rural Seniors Covered by Medicare at Higher Risk

September 9, 2015/in Announcements

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its plan to address health equity in the Medicare program. Minority, poor, and rural Medicare recipients experience higher incidences of disease, lower quality of care, and barriers to access.