Economic Updates
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The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 2.4% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units from a revised level of 4.66 million units in April. May’s increase was the first back-to-back monthly gain since September 2005.
According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index, retail sales were unchanged in the week ending June 20. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales decline by 0.9%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending June 19 increased 6.6% to 548.2 from 514.4 the previous week. Purchase volume rose 7.3% to 280.3, the highest level since the first week of April. Refinancing applications increased 5.9% to 2,116.3.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last three or more years, rose 1.8% in May after a revised 1.8% increase in April. This was the third increase in the last four months after having recorded six straight declines. Economists had anticipated orders for durable goods in May would fall 0.5%. Among the areas of strong growth were orders for heavy machinery, up 7.7%, and demand for computers, up 9.4%.
New home sales fell 0.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000 from a downwardly revised rate of 344,000 in April. Economists had expected a sales pace of 360,000 units.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 to 627,000 in the week ending June 20 from a revised figure of 612,000 in the previous week. The number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits in the week ending June 13 rose 29,000 to 6.738 million.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on consumer confidence on June 30, construction spending and pending home sales on July 1, and factory orders on July 2.
Provided by:
Judy Haller
Senior Loan Officer
Prospect Mortgage
3985 Prince William Co. Pky., Suite 104
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Office: (703) 590-7132
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