The Mortgage Bankers Association reported today that its Market Composite Index, a measure of total loan application volume, fell by 7% in the latest week as consumers head into the holiday shopping season. The refinance index fell by nearly 8% while the purchase index declined by 5.2%. The recen
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11/06/2013
The U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that the homeownership rate in the U.S. in the 3rd quarter was at 65.3%, up from 65.0% in the first two quarters. The rate peaked at 69.2% in 2004 and the 65% was the lowest since 1995. In economic news, the ISM Service Index increased to 55.4% in Octo
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11/05/2013
There were no economic data points today of any consequence, but reports pick up towards the end of this week. The government will release the delayed October Jobs report on Friday, where it is expected that employers added 100,000 jobs. The Unemployment Rate is estimated to tick up slightly to
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11/04/2013
Economic data was on the light side today with just a reading on manufacturing activity across the nation. The national ISM Index came in at 56.4% in October, up from the September reading of 56.2%. It was the highest level in 2013 and has increased progressively each month since June. However, w
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11/02/2013
CoreLogic reported today that completed foreclosures in September fell by nearly 40% from the year ago period. In addition, there were fewer than 2.1 million residential mortgages, or 5.2%, seriously delinquent and that rate is at its lowest level since December of 2006. However, there were 5
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10/31/2013
Americans across the nation took advantage of the recent drop in home loan rates as mortgage application activity surged in the latest week. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, rose by 6.4% for the week ended October
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10/30/2013
The big event this week will be the 2-day Federal Open Market Committee's monetary policy statement that will be released at 2:00pm ET on Wednesday. The talks at the meeting will revolve around when to begin easing back on the Fed's massive stimulus program, which comes in the form of the Fed pu
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10/28/2013
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced yesterday that current loan limits backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not be reduced in size as originally planned. The FHFA said that current limits will remain in effect until at least springtime. The current ranges are $417,000 in most
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10/25/2013