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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 and durable goods.
- Mortgage applications remained on an upward path during the week ending September 23, posting a 9.3 percent advance on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Purchase applications are stuck in a slow growth pattern—they were up 2.6 percent, while refinancing applications gained 11.2 percent.
- Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages declined from 4.29 to 4.25 percent.
- Cash purchases—which account for 30 percent of transactions—are not captured in the data.
- The Census Bureau’s monthly report of new orders for manufactured durable goods showed activity moving sideways. New orders declined $0.2 billion in August, a 0.1 percent change from July.
- This minimal decline is actually good news in the sense that many economists were fearful of large tumble in August as a potential government shutdown was looming. Major capital expenditures like durable goods orders were expected to fall by a large amount. However, it did not, so the current quarter GDP growth will be a bit higher than previously thought.
- Orders for motor vehicles and parts declined the steepest—8.5 percent, while orders for aircraft and parts—both defense and non-defense—rose 22.5 and 23.5, respectively.
- Businesses continue to ramp up their inventory levels: inventories of durable goods rose 0.9 percent, to $365.3 billions—the highest level since the Census started publishing the series on a NAICS basis.
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