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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without Compiled by the DS News Staff TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S PRESIDENT AND COO, MATT MARTIN REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT The national inventory of loans in foreclosure declined 1.5 percent in June 2014, the 26th consecutive month of declines, according to Black Knight Financial Services. REO inventory was down 24.3 percent year-over-year in June 2014 compared to June 2013, according to RealtyTrac. FEDERAL RESERVE ENDING STIMULUS PROGRAM PAGE 31 INSIDE THE JOURNAL // MOVERS & SHAKERS // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM Source: CoreLogic FIVE MINUTES WITH Jo Ann Kruse STATES WITH SMALLEST FORECLOSURE INVENTORIES 1 Alaska 0.3% 2 Nebraska 0.4% 2 North Dakota 0.4% 2 Wyoming 0.4% 5 Minnesota 0.5% 6 South Dakota 0.6% 6 Colorado 0.6% 6 Missouri 0.6% 6 California 0.6% 6 Virgina 0.6% State Percentage of Homes Ranking STATES WITH LARGEST FORECLOSURE INVENTORIES 1 New Jersey 5.8% 2 Florida 5.2% 3 New York 4.3% 4 Hawaii 3.1% 5 Maine 2.8% 6 Connecticut 2.8% 7 Illinois 2.4% 8 Maryland 2.4% 9 Delaware 2.3% 10 Nevada 2.2% Ranking State Percentage of Homes e Federal Reserve appears to be confident enough in the trajectory of the United States economy to put a plan in place to stop adding to its bond holdings in October, according to the minutes of June's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. is decision has been months in the making. Fed policymakers have tapered their government bond purchases in $10 billion increments at each Committee meeting since December, cutting them from $85 billion per month to $35 billion. At the current pace, the Fed would be buying $15 billion in Treasury bonds and mortgage- backed securities by its October meeting. e purchases are intended to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and to encourage risk-taking by investors. ey have, however, been the subject of some controversy as inflation concerns persist among some economists. Economists have speculated that the Fed may reduce bond purchases by $15 billion instead of the customary $10 billion pattern that it has displayed so far. Closing out the program would be of considerable symbolic significance to the financial markets and to the American public, signaling that the economy is now capable of standing on its own two feet and does not need the Fed's stimulus funding to prop it up. e symbolism is not lost on the Fed. "Participants generally agreed that if incoming information continued to support its expectation of improvement in labor market conditions and a return of inflation toward its longer- run objective, it would be appropriate to complete asset purchases with a $15 billion reduction in the pace of purchases in order to avoid having the small, remaining level of purchases receive undue focus among investors," the minutes said. Even after the Fed ends the growth of its bond portfolio, it plans to maintain the size of its holdings by continuing to reinvest proceeds from matured bonds. e size of the portfolio will likely stay consistent until interest rates begin to rise. e meeting did not give any indication of when the Fed will raise interest rates, but the general consensus among economists is that it will likely occur in the middle of next year. Policymakers agreed to communicate to the public later this year about the mechanisms that the Fed will use to bring up rates, as it is feared that bringing up the benchmark interest rate may not be enough due to the amount of cash in the system. The purchases are intended to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and to encourage risk-taking by investors. They have, however, been the subject of some controversy as inflation concerns persist among some economists.

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