Daily Economic Update: Mortgage Purchase Applications

Each day the Research staff takes a look at recently released economic indicators, addressing what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update highlights mortgage purchase applications.

• Mortgage applications declined 2.9 percent during the week ending August 19, with purchases decreasing 7.3 percent and refinancings contracting 1.7 percent.
• Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose from 4.32 to 4.39 percent.
• Cash purchases—not covered by this mortgage survey data—have been trending at roughly 30 percent of all home sales transactions.  So even though a fall in mortgage purchase applications often signals lower home sales activity, there are times when sales actually pick up when cash purchases also rise.  For example, cash purchases are reported to have risen to about 60 percent of all transactions in Miami and Las Vegas.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods rose 4.0 percent in July, to $201.5 billion.
• Transportation equipment orders, which led the earlier growth, advanced at the fastest pace—14.6 percent.
• Businesses continue to ramp up their inventory levels—inventories of durable goods rose 0.8 percent, the nineteenth consecutive monthly gain.
• Manufacturers’ shipments of durable goods increased $5.0 billion or 2.5 percent.
• As the figures indicate, manufacturing activity in July strengthened.