Below is a graph comparing mortgage rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) and the refinance index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The MBA reported yesterday that refinance activity increased again last week….

The NAR reported inventory decreased to 2.49 million units in May, down 0.4% from the downwardly revised 2.50 million in April (revised down from 2.54 million). This is down 20.4% from May 2011, and down 2.6% from the inventory level in May 2005 (mid-2…

Existing home sales for May is the key economic release on Thursday. And somewhat related, here is an interesting article on construction in Phoenix, from Bloomberg: Arizona’s Homebuilding Revival Sparks Bidding Wars for Workers (ht Brian)

After b…

At the January press conference, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at further accommodation (QE3) based on incoming data. Then the January and February employment reports were above expectations, and inflation also picked up a little due to the surge i…

From the Census Bureau: Sharing a Household: Household Composition and Economic Well-Being: 2007–2010

In spring 2007, there were 19.7 million shared households. By spring 2010, the number of shared households had increased by 11.4 percent, while a…