Bellevue Real Estate, Mortgage, and Economy 7/5/11
Posted on 05 July 2011
Here is the Bellevue Real Estate Report for July 5, 2011:
QUOTE OF THE WEEK…”Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”–Mark Twain
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE…Last week’s housing market facts were so good, it was hard for commentators to distort them into the negative picture many like to paint. Wednesday’s Pending Home Sales for May came in 8.2% ahead of April, the biggest monthly gain since November and 13.4% higher than May a year ago! This annual hike was the first in over a year, while the monthly gain points to sales increases come June and July. All regions were up, the Midwest leading with a 17.2% annual bump!
April’s Case-Shiller home price index posted its first gain in eight months, UP 0.8% in the top 10 metros and UP 0.7% in the top 20. Data aggregator CoreLogic’s Home Price Index was UP in May for the second month in a row.
It was also nice to see consumers aren’t discouraged. In a New York Times/CBS News poll, almost 9 in 10 Americans say homeownership is an important part of the American Dream. And consumers continue to believe that the market will eventually improve and housing will regain its traditional importance.
Lastly, the Wall Street Journal reported, “there are growing indications that it is a good time to buy,” concluding that “the long-term case for home ownership is looking stronger.”
EARLY FIREWORKS…It was an explosive week for stocks, as investors just couldn’t wait for the weekend celebrations. It was one of the biggest weekly market gains in two years. Greece passed unpopular austerity measures and got its bailout. This calmed Wall Streeters worried about US bank exposure to Greek bonds. The week began with inflation still under control. Core PCE Prices were up 0.3% in May and up only 1.2% for the year. And personal income is up 4.2% in the past year. For the week, the Dow ended UP 5.4%, to 12583; the S&P 500 was UP 5.6%, to 1340; and the Nasdaq was UP 6.1%, to 2816.
On the jobs front, key to housing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in May, the unemployment rate fell year-over-year in 74% of the metro areas measured. Investors were also buoyed by an unexpected uptick in manufacturing. The Chicago PMI bolted up to 61.1 in June, showing strength in Midwestern manufacturing. Manufacturing nationwide also grew strongly, as the ISM Manufacturing index jumped to 55.3 for the month. In both cases a drop had been forecast.
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