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46 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA The Cost of Being Compliant Companies are doling out more dollars this quarter than last to be on the right side of industry rules, but that's not necessarily a negative indicator, index says. T he Banking Compli- ance Index (BCI), a quarterly tracking index published by the Regulatory Operations Center, revealed how much financial institutions are spending on compliance costs. Hours spent analyzing and implementing new regulation increased 36 percent since the start of the year and by 27 percent since Q1 of 2017. This resulted in $13,925 of cost for the average $400M institution, probably due to changes in enforcement actions, which total 71 during Q2 2017. According to the report, this accelerated the enforcement rate a full point over Q1 2017 to 4.85 percent. "This minor movement is nonetheless significant, because it indicates that the "Trump effect" may be less impactful than first believed," the report stated. "It's possible that both stats may have been driven upward by a 're - turn to business' in Washington, D.C., which happens in any new administration after the dust settles on the initial transition period." There have been more than 1,500 pages of new regulation since July 1, according to the report, and with top agency posts still to be determined, more could be coming in the third quarter. "Our Banking Compliance Index is a significant indicator of the regulatory environment, quarter by quarter," said Mike Nicastro, CEO of Continuity. "These shifts toward the increas - ing cost of compliance this quarter serve as a leading indicator that the governing bodies are beginning to accelerate the issuance of new regulations and that there may be further increases in activity in the months to come." In Demand: Single-Family Rental Homes Rising home prices and low inventory isn't just a narrative for homebuyers. As rental houses have been in high demand, a lack of supply is boosting rental home prices. A ccording to Zillow, the housing crisis caused the demand for single-family rental homes to increase as families struggled to be able to afford to buy homes. The report noted that almost half of all renters consider renting a single-family home, but with the current housing trends, they are unable to do so. "When the market crashed, many families lost homes they owned during the foreclosure crisis and now may not be able to afford to buy another as home prices rise," said Dr. Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist at Zillow. Zillow's data reports that the median rent for houses rose 1.3 percent annually to a monthly rent payment of $1,404. In addition, there are fewer single-family homes to rent than a decade ago. According to the report, "almost 20 percent of all single-family homes across the U.S. were rented in 2016, up from 13.5 percent 10 years prior." In addition, Zillow's data reveals that a 20 percent down payment on a typical U.S. home costs more than two-thirds of the median household income. "Those who want to buy are finding it difficult to find the right one, or may need a bit more time to come up with a down pay - ment, but still want the advantage of space that single-family resi- dences often provide," Gudell said. This, coupled with the foreclo- sure crisis turning millions of home- owners into renters, is a big reason why demand for single-family rental homes has risen over the last few years, according to Gudell. Zillow noted that the full data for this report, titled 2017 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report (ZGR), is set to release this fall.