ECONOMIC UPDATES
In the News
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Retail sales rose
0.1% to $416.6 billion in January. This follows a 0.5% increase in December.
Compared to January 2012, retail sales have increased 4.4%.
The Mortgage
Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage
applications for the week ending February 8 fell 6.4%. Purchase volume fell 10%.
Refinancing applications decreased 6%.
Import prices rose 0.6% in
January, following a 0.5% decrease in December. On a year-over-year basis,
import prices were down 1.3% in January. Export prices rose 0.3% in January,
following a 0.1% decrease in December. Compared to a year ago, export prices
were up 1.1% in January.
Total business inventories rose 0.1% in December
to $1.623 trillion, up 5.1% from a year ago. Total business sales increased 0.3%
to $1.274 trillion in December, up 3.6% from a year ago. The total business
inventories/sales ratio in December was 1.27.
Industrial production at
the nation's factories, mines and utilities fell 0.1% in January after
increasing 0.4% in December. Compared to January 2012, industrial production has
increased 2.1%. Capacity utilization fell to 79.1% in January from 79.3% in
December.
The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for
February's preliminary reading rose to 76.3 from 73.8 in January.
Initial
claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending February 9 fell by 27,000
to 341,000. Continuing claims for the week ending February 2 fell by 130,000 to
3.187 million. The less volatile four-week average of claims for unemployment
benefits was 352,500.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on
the housing market index on February 19, housing starts on February 20 and
existing home sales on February 21.
Provided by:
Judy
Haller
Prospect Mortgage
3985 Prince William Co. Pkwy., Suite
104
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Office: (703) 590-7132
Comments (2)
Thanks John. I borrow this information from a lender friend of mine. I'm a bit of an economics nerd. Most of this stuff is national info and as we know real estate is very local. It's hyper local here. In the D.C. area we have been pretty detached from the national trends for quite some time. However, I'm getting worried about some issues now. Back in 2008 when the market dropped 15% here I was screaming for people to buy because employement was strong. Now, in Fairfax county, average home prices are pushing up against $500k again with the average houshold income around $120k. That ratio is concerning. Where our area benifited greatly from massive government spending it will be hit equally hard by sequestration. And, if interest rates go up even a point that will throw my current arithmatic all out of wack. Thanks for reading.
Justin Pierce, about 12 years ago
Great information. What impact have these specific data sets had on your mortgage work in VA? What trends have you seen in your office that may reflect these economic trends?
John McCombs, about 12 years ago