Headline News from Last Week
- MBA Purchase Applications – The purchase index fell 3% with the year-on-year at a very steep -12%.
- Jobless Claims – After consecutive weeks of solid improvement, claims rose a sharp 28,000 last week to a 326,000 level that was well beyond the Econoday prediction.
- Existing Home Sales – Sales of existing homes are finally showing life, up 1.3% in April. The key single-family component is also up 0.5% for the first gain of the year.
- New Home Sales – New Home Sales jumped 6.4% to a higher-than-expected 433,000 annual rate. A dip in prices contributed to April’s sales strength with the median price down 2.1%.
Mortgage Rates
According to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac, average fixed-rate mortgage rates decreased for the fourth consecutive week and hit a new low for the year.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 4.14% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 22, 2014, down from last week when they averaged 4.20%. A year ago at this time, 30-year FRMs averaged 3.59%.
15-year FRMs this week averaged 3.25% with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when they averaged 3.29%. A year ago at this time, 15-year FRMs averaged 2.77%.
5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 2.96% this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when they averaged 3.01%. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.63%.
1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.43% this week with an average 0.4 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.55%.
Equity Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ all rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 hitting a new record of 1,900.05. The Dow ended up nearly 0.4%, while the NASDAQ ended up almost 0.8%.
Tuesday, May 27
FHFA House Price Index (9:00 a.m. ET) – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) covers single-family housing, using data provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The House Price Index is derived from transactions involving conforming conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
S&P Case-Shiller HPI (9:00 a.m. ET) – The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S.
Consumer Confidence (10:00 a.m. ET) – The Consumer Confidence Index is based on consumers’ perceptions of current business and employment conditions, as well as their expectations for six months regarding business conditions, employment and income.
Wednesday, May 28
MBA Purchase Applications (7:00 a.m. ET) – The purchase applications index measures applications at mortgage lenders. This is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction.
Thursday, May 29
GDP (8:30 a.m. ET) – GDP is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity and encompasses every sector of the economy.
Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET) – New unemployment claims are compiled weekly to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time.
Pending Home Sales Index (10:00 a.m. ET) – The National Association of REALTORS developed the pending home sales index as a leading indicator of housing activity. Specifically, it is a leading indicator of existing home sales, not new home sales.
Friday, May 30
Consumer Sentiment (9:55 a.m. ET) – The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. Consumer sentiment is directly related to the strength of consumer spending.
Visit the Quicken Loans Zing Blog for updated information on important economic releases that affect your wallet.
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