ECONOMIC UPDATES

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 5.1% in March after a 2.1% increase in February. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales are down 11.4%.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 2.5% in March after a revised 0.7% increase in February. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly increase of 1.3%.

Retail sales rose 0.4% for the week ending April 23, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 3.2%.

New home sales fell 11.1% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units from an upwardly revised rate of 270,000 units in February. Economists had expected a pace of 280,000 units in March.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index fell 1.1% in February after a 1.1% decrease in January. On a year-over-year basis, prices fell 3.3% compared with February 2010.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending April 22 fell 5.6%. Refinancing applications decreased 0.6%. Purchase volume fell 13.6%.

The Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011, compared to 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 25,000 to 429,000 for the week ending April 23. Continuing claims for the week ending April 16 fell by 68,000 to 3.64 million, the lowest since the end of September 2008.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on construction spending on May 2 and factory orders on May 3.

Provided by:

Judy Haller

Prospect Mortgage

3985 Prince William Co. Pkwy., Suite 104

Woodbridge, VA 22192

Office: (703) 590-7132