Daily News 11/14/14
November 14, 2014
Friday – November 14
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today that its Builder Application Survey for October showed that mortgage applications for new home purchases rose by 8% from September. Within the release it showed that new single-family homes were running at a seasonal adjusted annual rate of 461,000 units in October, which is up 8.5% from the September number of 425,000. In October it is estimated that there were 36,000 new home sales, up from the 32,000 in September, a 12.5% gain.
The mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S. continued to decline in the third quarter as the rate has now returned to the levels last seen before the housing market downturn. Late payments on mortgages declined to 5.85% in the third quarter and has now fallen six straight quarters as the economy and the job market recovers. It is the the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey.
The ongoing story of lower gas prices at the pumps continues to dominate the headlines. The current national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline is at $2.91, down from $3.18 a month ago. The U.S. Energy Department reports that the average price of gasoline will be below $3 a gallon in 2015, with consumers saving $61 billion on gas compared to 2014. The average price motorists can expect to pay at the pumps for a regular gallon of gas in 2015 is expected at $2.94, predicts the Department of Energy.
