Even MORE good economic news! Mortgage applications hit highest level in 2 years!
Mortgage applications have risen to the highest level since July 2005 for new purchases and refi's....
If true, this probably is like applications to get into college. I.e. as banks are being very tight with their loans now (and /FED just issued new rules under which they can be sued if they omit some facts, etc.) People need to borrow are behaving like students trying to get in to good university. - Using the shot-gun approach. - I.e. instead of just one application, They make a dozen.
The real facts relate to the rate of actual construction, supply of unsold homes, price changes, foreclosure rates, etc. Not something anyone can do at no cost, I.e. apply for a loan.
Your calling this "more good news" is just more evidence that you do not understand what it means or what is happening.
About 95% of building permits are issued to building corporations. They are all in deep trouble, showing losses or going bankrupt. (Why build more homes when their is nearly a years supply of unsold homes already on the market and their price is dropping!) However, a few of these despirate corporation are probably trying to persuade the foolish that the "worst is over" by making applications for building permits in the area they work. Probably, if you search you may be able to find some local increase even in building permits. Then you can ignorantly post some more "good news."
Here is some reality:
"... U.S. home
foreclosures rose 68 percent in November from a year earlier as adjustable-rate mortgages left subprime borrowers unable to meet higher payments, according to data compiled by RealtyTrac Inc....California, Florida and Ohio had the most filings and Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate. {data at end}
Interest rates increased on more than $87 billion of subprime mortgages in the third quarter, and another $84 billion will reset in the fourth quarter, according to New York-based analysts for Credit Suisse Group.
Foreclosures may surge next year as payments rise on about 1 million home loans, Rick Sharga, executive vice president for marketing at RealtyTrac, said in an interview. ``I wouldn't be surprised if we're at the 230,000 to 250,000 level'' for monthly foreclosures in the first quarter, Sharga said.
Foreclosed properties are adding to the supply of unsold homes and deepening the U.S. housing recession. Existing home sales will fall 12 percent and home prices will drop 4.5 percent next year, according to Washington-based Fannie Mae, the biggest U.S. mortgage buyer.
The inventory of unsold houses is at 11 months, an eight-year high.
...
The Fed proposals ``could inadvertently cause a short-term problem because you'll end up with stringent loan standards that limit the opportunities for people who want to refinance,'' Sharga said.
California's 39,992 {foreclosure} filings in November were more than double its total from a year earlier and 21 percent fewer than in October, according to RealtyTrac. Florida had 29,238 filings, more than triple last year's total and down 3 percent from October.
Ohio had 16,308 filings, almost double the number a year ago and down 5.6 percent from October, said RealtyTrac, an Irvine, California-based seller of foreclosure information with a database of more than 1 million properties. ..."
From:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=az3LawfPTxCU&refer=home
