

Foreclosure Starts 0.93%
May 16, 2012 – The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall delinquency rate decreased for all loan types except VA loans. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased five basis points to 4.07 percent for prime fixed loans and decreased …


Mortgage Delinquency Rates Fell to 7.40%
May 16, 2012 – The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.40 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2012, a decrease …


LEI Decreased To 95.5
May 17, 2012, The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. declined 0.1 percent in April to 95.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in March, and a 0.7 percent increase in February. Says Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board: …


Initial Jobless Claims – 370,000
May 17, 2012 – The US Department of Labor reported in the week ending May 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 370,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure of 370,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, a decrease of 4,750 …


Homebuilder Confidence Index Increased to 29
May 15, 2012 – Home Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes gained five points in May from a downwardly revised reading in the previous month to reach a level of 29 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market …


Building Permits Down 7.0%
May 16, 2012 – The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for April 2012. Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of …


30 Year Fixed Rate Decreased to 3.96%
May 16, 2012 – The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.96 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 4.01 percent, with points decreasing …


Refi % of Apps Increased To 74.9%
May 16, 2012 – The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 74.9 percent of total applications from 72.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4 percent from 5.7 percent of total …


Mortgage Apps Increased 9.2%
May 16, 2012 – The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released mortgage applications increased 9.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 11, 2012. The Market Composite Index, a measure …


NAR Housing Affordability Index Improves
May 15, 2012, The National Association of Realtors released their composite quarterly Housing Affordability Index rose to a record high of 205.9 in first quarter, based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate. The higher the index, …











