18 Jul 2013
By Mark Feder
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Home Builder Confidence Rises To Highest Level Since January 2006

Housing Analysis
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose in July. Home builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes rose six points to a reading of 57. NAHB reports that this was the third consecutive rise in the HMI and its highest reading since January 2006. Three components used in compiling the HMI reading include current sales, which gained five points for a reading of 60.  Confidence in prospective buyer traffic rose from 40 to 45, and sales expectations for the next six months rose from a reading of 60 to…
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15 Jul 2013
By Mark Feder
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – July 15, 2013

Housing Analysis
The Fed's release of the minutes for the June FOMC meeting was the most noteworthy economic event last week; the minutes repeated the Fed's recent statement concerning the wind-down of its current monetary easing policy. The minutes indicated that about half of meeting participants wanted to end the quantitative easing (QE) policy by year end, while "many others" preferred to end the program in 2014. This split suggests that days are numbered for the Fed's monthly purchase of $85 billion in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The minutes also revealed that the Fed would not be selling off MBS…
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10 Jul 2013
By Mark Feder
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Is It Possible That Your Gender May Influence Your Home Mortgage Approval?

Housing Analysis
If you are applying for a joint mortgage on your property with your spouse or partner, the name that goes first could have more of an impact than you might think. A 2010 study by the Woodstock Institute showed that mortgage lenders were inclined to show favoritism when men were the lead borrowers on joint applications. The study was undertaken within the Chicago area and it tracked joint applications for refinancing as well as home purchases. Over 250,000 applications were studied in the year 2010. Surprisingly, the study showed that home purchase applications that listed the female partner as the…
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08 Jul 2013
By Mark Feder
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – July 8, 2013

Housing Analysis
Last week saw a relatively quiet week due to the 4th of July holiday, but there were some housing-related developments: Monday: The Department of Commerce reported that overall construction spending increased by 0.50 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $874.9 billion. Residential construction grew by 1.20 percent, and May 2012 construction spending was 5.40 percent higher than in May 2012. More spending in residential construction can indicate builder confidence in housing markets; added construction could help ease low inventories of available homes. Tuesday: CoreLogic reported that May national home prices increased by 12.20 percent over May…
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