Kevin Hawkins's (kevinhawkins) Blog

Tuesday's June New Home Sales are forecast a tick up from the prior month, but Thursday's June Pending Home Sales are predicted down. Also on Tuesday, July Consumer Confidence should be slightly down, while Friday's Michigan Consumer Sentiment will come in flat. The less than upbeat consumer mind...

Last week included both problems and progress in the housing market. Getting the probs out of the way, June Existing Home Sales came in down 0.8% versus May, to an annual rate still below 5 million units, lifting the months' supply to 9.5. But all the sales decline was from condos and coops, sing...

Thursday's Greek bailout spurred bond selling. U.S. debt ceiling squabbles didn't help bonds either, although this may change as the August 2 deadline approaches. The FNMA 4.0% bond we follow ended the week down .06, at $100.22. National average mortgage rates hardly moved for the week, staying n...

European leaders finally agreed on a Greek bail out, which sent stock prices skyward on Wall Street, posting a better than 2% gain for the broadly based S&P 500. The Euros also got serious about controlling the risk of contagion, coming up with longer term loans at lower interest rates for countr...

With the economic recovery in slow motion, economists expect the Funds Rate to stay at its super low level a bit longer. Note: In the lower chart, a 1% probability of change is a 99% certainty the rate will stay the same. Current Fed Funds Rate: 0%-0.25% After FOMC meeting on: Consensus Aug 9 0%-...

 Date Time (ET) Release For Consensus Prior Impact TuJul 26 10:00 Consumer Confidence Jul 56.0 58.5 Moderate TuJul 26 10:00 New Home Sales Jun 320K 319K Moderate WJul 27 08:30 Durable Goods Orders Jun 0.4% 2.1% Moderate WJul 27 10:30 Crude Inventories 7/23 NA -3.727M Moderate WJul 27 14:00 Fed B...

BUILDING, HOME SELLING EDGING UP...Tuesday's June Housing Starts are forecast up slightly from last month, although still not near pre-downturn levels. Building Permits, foreshadowing starts a few months out, are expected to be flat. Wednesday, June Existing Home Sales should also be up, but not ...

European debt worries and disappointing economic news sent investors to the safe haven of the bond market. Successful Treasury auctions showed these folks weren't worried about U.S. debt. The FNMA 4.0% bond we follow ended the week UP .09, at $100.28. National average rates on fixed-rate mortgage...

The word of the week was "debt" as investors worried about both Italy's sovereign debt problems and the inability of the politicians in Washington to get to agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling. With these uncertainties, stocks wobbled off their high perch and all three indexes sank for the...

Increasingly, the wrong thing for consumers to do is to stay out of the housing market. In many locales, owning a home is now less expensive than renting. Rents are rising and vacancies falling, according to a report that tracked leasing data across the country. For the second quarter, rents rose...