Key Economic Indicators – January 27, 2013

  • December existing home sales increased 1.0% to an annualized rate of 4,870 thousand units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price of existing houses sold was $198.0 thousand, 9.9% above December 2012.
  • U.S. House prices increased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from October to November, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in November, U.S. prices rose 7.6%. The index is 8.9% below its April 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the April 2005 index level.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of January 23nd showed average fixed mortgage rates decreasing for the second consecutive week.
  • Mortgage applications increased 4.7% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending January 17th.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased a thousand to 326 thousand in the week ending January 18.
  • The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators increased 0.1% in December, while the coincident index increased 0.2%.

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