1.Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
“Mortgage applications decreased 2.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 8, 2014. ”
2.Record income gap fuels US housing weakness
“The income gap between America’s richest and poorest metropolitan regions has reached its widest on record, shaping an uneven housing recovery that threatens to hold back the broader revival of the world’s largest economy.”
3.US in good position: Pro
“Dissecting the U.S. market compared to around the world, with Ben Willis, Princeton Securities Group, and Michael Farr, Farr, Miller & Washington. ”
4.California’s housing affordability declines
“Lower interest rates in the second quarter of 2014 failed to offset continued home price increases in California, lowering housing affordability, according to the California Association of Realtors.”
5.Homes less affordable, but San Bernardino more affordable than most
“The housing affordability index, which measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced single- family home in California, fell in the second quarter, the California Association of Realtors reported today.”
6.Southland Home Sales Fall Yr/Yr Again; Prices Rise at Slower Pace
“Southern California home sales fell to a three-year low for the month of July as supply continued to fall short of demand, some buyers struggled with higher prices, and investor activity fell. Cash deals declined to the lowest level in more than four years, while the median sale price dipped from June and rose from a year ago at the slowest pace in more than two years, a real estate information service reported. ”