Dallas Fed Economics
U.S. housing: Unaffordable to buy, but wealth-building to own
A home is not only a place to live. It is a long-lived asset whose value reflects the housing service it provides over time and the return buyers require, given interest rates and risk. The ongoing combination of high house price-to-rent ratios and strained affordability suggests housing remains a macroeconomic vulnerability, though financial conditions appear more resilient than before the housing bust and subsequent Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
May 19, 2026
Economic Surveys
Banking Conditions Survey
Loan volume and demand growth continued to accelerate in May. Volume rose across loan types.
May 18, 2026
Working Paper
Term Funding Premium—Time Is Money After All
This paper presents evidence from financial markets arguing for the explicit recognition of a different kind of premium that is associated with terming out funding without bearing interest rate risk.
May 11, 2026
Southwest Economy
Eleventh Federal Reserve District banks maintain growth, profitability heading into 2026
Eleventh District banks, benefitting from steady profits, strong credit conditions and improving bank capital levels, are well positioned to compete in a changing regulatory environment.
May 08, 2026
Dallas Fed Economics
What drives mortgage rates and their response to monetary policy changes
Mortgage rates are an important channel for monetary policy pass-through. However, this channel is complex.
May 07, 2026
Dallas Fed Economics
Measures of inflation misalign with pricier home insurance
Overall, homeowners insurance is becoming less affordable, yet this deterioration in affordability is not well captured by either of the most widely used inflation measures—CPI or PCE—both designed to track price levels rather than affordability or household financial strain.
April 09, 2026
Speeches and essays
The banking system and the demand for reserves
When it comes to the balance sheet, as with all of the Fed’s work, the focus needs to be on how we can best serve the public and support a strong economy and financial system.
April 02, 2026
Dallas Fed Economics
Options for reducing the size of the Fed’s balance sheet
Some observers have argued that the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet is too large and complicates the central bank’s operations. We catalog options for reducing the Fed’s major liabilities, which help determine the size of the balance sheet, as well as a framework for assessing the costs and benefits of those options.
April 02, 2026
Economic Surveys
Banking Conditions Survey
Loan volume and demand notably accelerated in March. The upward momentum was driven by real estate loans, especially commercial real estate.
March 30, 2026
Dallas Fed Banking
Eleventh District banks hold fewer loans to non-banking firms compared with peers
Recent high-profile bankruptcies of firms relying on private credit financing have raised concerns that relatively opaque and riskier credit could hide broader systemic risk. Several banks announced asset write-downs from exposure to these bankruptcies.
March 25, 2026