ECONOMIC UPDATES

Last Week in the News
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New home sales fell 2.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000 units from a revised rate of 302,000 units in July. Compared to a year ago, new home sales were up 6.1%.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index - on a non-seasonally adjusted basis - rose 0.9% in July after a 1.2% increase in June. On a year-over-year basis, prices fell 4.1% compared with July 2010.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending September 23 rose 9.3%. Refinancing applications increased 11.2%. Purchase volume rose 2.6%.

Orders for durable goods - items expected to last three or more years - fell 0.1% in August after a revised 4.1% increase in July. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted an identical monthly decrease of 0.1%.

In its third and final report for the second quarter of 2011, the Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product - the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. - increased at a revised annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter of 2011, compared to the previous estimate of 1%. This follows a 0.4% pace of growth in the first quarter of 2011.

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, fell 1.2% in August after a 1.3% increase in July. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales are up 13.1%.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell by 37,000 to 391,000 for the week ending September 24. Continuing claims for the week ending September 17 fell by 20,000 to 3.7 million.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on construction spending on October 3 and factory orders on October 4.

Provided by:
Judy Haller
Prospect Mortgage
3985 Prince William Co. Pkwy., Suite 104
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Office: (703) 590-7132