Eye On Housing
The latest home buying and refinancing data have shown an increase in overall mortgage activity, as indicated by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey. The benchmark Market Composite Index increased by 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. The Primary Mortgage Market Survey’s interest rate hovered 2 basis points above the historical low of 3.40% reached… Read More ›
The U.S. Department of Labor released the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report. In the week ending May 16th, weekly jobless claims totaled 2.4 million, a decrease from the previous week. It was the seventh straight week of a declining pace after the record peak of 6.9 million during the week ending March 28th. In the week ending May 16th, the… Read More ›
The U.S. Department of Labor released the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report. In the week ending May 9th, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance remained in the magnitude of millions. On a bright side, continuing claims had the smallest increase in the week ending May 2nd, and we are seeing a flattening trend in the continuing claims curve…. Read More ›
For the first time since 2012, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for land acquisition, development and single-family construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s AD&C financing survey for the first quarter of 2020. The net tightening index derived from the NAHB survey jumped to 22.7, about 40 points higher than the -22.3 reported in the fourth quarter of 2019. … Read More ›
Since its previous week’s reading, which also marked a record low in the series, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage contract rate edged up by 3 basis points to 3.43%. The Market Composite Index, measuring mortgage loan application volume for purchases and refinancings, increased by 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week prior. The MBA cites the… Read More ›
Lock down orders implemented across the US to fight the spread of the coronavirus have given rise to more people working from home and engaging in other activities indoors that they would normally do in public spaces. With the major shift in where people spend their time, it is important to examine the data currently available on home buyers’ preferences… Read More ›
The theme of the latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey reflecting banks’ lending practices, in the first quarter of 2020, is one that is echoed in other reports produced by organizations in the financial services sector. Amid the continuing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, focusing on existing assets and clients is more important than expanding balance sheets to… Read More ›
According to the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report, released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance hit 3.2 million for the week ending May 2nd, bringing the total to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks. In the week ending May 2nd, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits, known as… Read More ›
In the latest Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Application Survey, the benchmark Market Composite Index increased by 0.1 % from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. Even as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached a record low of 3.4% as of May 1, compared to a year ago, purchasing applications declined while refinancing continued to stir, as has been the… Read More ›
The U.S. Department of Labor released the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report for the week ending April 25th. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance hit 3.8 million, bringing the total jobless claims to 30.3 million over the past six weeks. In the week ending April 25th, the number of people… Read More ›