Homestead mailing list

["Lisa K. V. Perry" <lkvp AT floydva.net>]

Don Bowen wrote:

> One thing I read recently coupled rising interest rates, reduction of house 
> price increases, and stagnant incomes.  This implies that homeowners are 
> not so able to pull equity out of the homes.  This in turn leads to layoffs 
> in the mortgage and home construction fields.
>
>  
It was reported yesterday late afternoon on NPR's Marketplace that Toll 
Brothers Inc., a major contractor, reported a decrease in earnings. Then 
the domino effect kicked in and stock prices of construction supply and 
home improvement companies (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) all went lower.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8DOF9C81.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db

More interesting news rec'd this morning from the National Bureau of 
Economic Research. I have signed up for free notication of various 
releases i.e. the MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey (below), the 
U. of MI Consumer Sentiment and Consumer Confidence Index, the 
Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report, etc.

http://www.nber.org/releases/

> *WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 9, 2005)* — The Mortgage Bankers 
> Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications 
> Survey for the week ending November 4. The Market Composite Index — a 
> measure of mortgage loan application volume – was 661.3, an increase 
> of 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 646.7, one week 
> earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1.0 percent 
> compared with the previous week but was down 9.2 percent compared with 
> the same week one year earlier.
>
> The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index increased by 6.4 percent to 
> 465.7 from 437.6 the previous week whereas the Refinance Index 
> decreased by 3.4 percent to 1798.8 from 1862.8 one week earlier. Other 
> seasonally adjusted index activity includes the Conventional Index, 
> which increased 2.4 percent to 988.2 from 965.1 the previous week, and 
> the Government Index, which increased 0.3 percent to 115.6 from 115.2 
> the previous week.
>
> “Last week, home purchase applications dropped below their 2004 level 
> for the first time in six months,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s Vice 
> President of Research and Economics. “Despite a 6.4 percent increase 
> over the previous week, home purchase applications remain 3.6 percent 
> below their level in early November, 2004.
>
> *The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association 
> representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that 
> employs more than 500,000 people in virtually every community in the 
> country.*
>
> * *