Thursday, August 21, 2025

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

Health of largest U.S. corporate pension plans showed no improvement in 2020

Mon, 04 January 2021  |  pensions retirement 

The funded status of the nation’s largest corporate pension plans started and finished 2020 at the same level as declining interest rates caused pension obligations to grow, offsetting gains from investments in equities and bonds. This is according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.

Willis Towers Watson examined pension plan data for 366 Fortune 1000 companies that sponsor U.S. defined benefit pension plans and have a December fiscal-year-end date. Results indicate that the aggregate pension funded status is estima... Read More

COVID-19 Impacting Short Term Retirement Planning

Mon, 04 January 2021  |  pandemic retirement consumer confidence 

A majority of today’s workers and retirees range from feeling cautious to pessimistic about the economic outlook for 2021, with nearly 75% concerned about how the global pandemic may impact their retirement savings, according to the latest Principal® Retirement Security Survey. The study gauged consumer concerns and actions around saving for retirement, financial plans, and reactions to COVID-19 and the accompanying market and economic impacts.

Consumers say health and financi... Read More