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» District of Columbia rank: 22 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate May 2013 2.9% Unemployment Rate 2.4% 8.5% year ago 3.3% 2.7% 9.1% year-over-year change -11.9% -8.3% -6.6% Top County DisTriCT of Columbia 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate May 2013 2.9% 2.4% year ago 3.3% 2.7% year-over-year change -11.9% -8.3% Top Core-based statistical area WashingTon-arlingTon-alexanDria, DC-Va-mD-WV 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate May 2013 2.6% 2.1% year ago 3.3% 2.7% year-over-year change -19.9% -20.0% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the May 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary May 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. IN THE NEWS NeighborWorks Receives Annual Housing Person of the Year Award The National Housing Conference (NHC) awarded NeighborWorks America with the Annual Housing Person of the Year Award. NeighborWorks, which has a network of 235 nonprofits represented in every state, was awarded at NHC's 41st Annual Housing Person of the Year Gala in Washington D.C. The theme for this year's event was Housing's Path Forward to highlight the work of stabilizing neighborhoods, preventing foreclosures, creating affordable rental housing, and counseling households. NeighborWorks received recognition for work accomplished through its network organizations, which provided nearly 122,000 individuals and families with education and counseling in 2012. Last year, NeighborWorks organizations also owned and managed more than 102,000 rental homes and assisted more than 305,000 households with housing. NHC also honored Omni New York LLC with the award. "NHC is very excited to honor two organizations that have not only worked so hard to help residents weather the darkest days of the housing crisis, but have also helped to light housing's path forward as we address the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow," said NHC president and CEO Chris Estes. "NeighborWorks America's housing counseling programs have helped more than 1.5 million people with foreclosure intervention counseling and have prevented a deepening of the foreclosure crisis that has wracked the country for the past five years," Estes added. CFPB Reveals Plans to Grow Staff The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced plans to grow its staff to meet the agency's strategic goals and stay in compliance with its mandate to protect consumers, according to Stephen Agostini, CFO at the bureau. Agostini, who gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, stated that during the next two fiscal years, CFPB's budget plans for an increase in employees from 1,214 in fiscal year 2013 to 1,545 employees in 2014. So far, the bureau has added 300 new hires in fiscal year 2013. The CFPB's fiscal year budget for 2013 is $541 million, which includes a one-time expense for renovations at the Washington, D.C. headquarters building. The budget for fiscal year 2014 is projected at $497 million, according to the testimony. The division of supervision, enforcement, and fair lending will be provided with the largest increase in funding during the next two fiscal years. "More than 40 percent of the growth in staff over the next two fiscal years will support supervision, enforcement, and fair lending activities, including the continued build-out of a regional examination workforce. The bureau will also ensure sufficient capacity to handle an increasing volume of consumer complaints," Agostini said. Since the CFPB began operating in July 2011, the bureau has handled more than 130,000 complaints from consumers. According to Agostini's testimony, open positions at the CFPB generate a high level of interest, with hundreds, and at times, thou- VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM sands of applications received for job openings, while less than 1 percent of applicants receive offers. MBA, AllRegs Partner on Mortgage Credit Availability Index The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced a partnership with AllRegs as part of an effort to offer a monthly index that measures mortgage credit availability. Dubbed the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), the measurement calculates several factors related to borrower eligibility such as credit score, loan type, and loan-tovalue ratio. "We expect that the MCAI will be a valuable new source of information for market participants, policymakers, and researchers," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's VP of research and economics. With a March 2012 benchmark value of 100, the MCAI increased to 108.9 in May, up slightly from 108.6 in April. If tracked in 2007, the index would have had a score of roughly 800. According to the MBA, the index also showed an increase in loan programs (such as HARP) that allow loan-to-value ratios greater than 95 percent, and some investors have lowered their minimum credit score requirements. "HARP lending continues to be an important component of the market. The availability of these very high LTV loans is one of the factors leading to the MCAI showing an increase over the past year," Fratantoni said. STAT INSIGHT 19% Share of residential home sales involving payment of all-cash in Washington, D.C., in April—the lowest among major metropolitan areas. Source: CoreLogic 77