Blame It on the Rain!

Home construction down in the early summer? Blame it on the rain. In Texas, that is, which accounts for 15% of all new single-family construction. That’s what Wells Fargosays anyway in its July 2015 Housing Chartbook. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34755-trending-thursday-end-fannie-freddie-because-big-banks-will-fill-the-void-right
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The Mortgage Bankers Association reported today that mortgage applications for July 2015 for new home purchases decreased by 4% relative to the previous month. It’s been dry in Texas for the last month, so how that will affect August will be telling. Spoiler: in the last week, the MBA reports apps are becoming a total non-mover. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34755-trending-thursday-end-fannie-freddie-because-big-banks-will-fill-the-void-right
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Shared by Juwai, A Chinese developer has applied to build a 88-storey tower in Surfers Paradise located in the Gold Coast of Australia

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Average fixed mortgage rates reversing course and nudging higher for the first time in four weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 13, 2015, up from last week when it averaged 3.91%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.12%. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34754-mortgage-rates-reverse-course-moving-higher

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With the Dodd-Frank financial reform law celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, the editors at Investor's Business Daily have offered their assessment of the Obama administration centerpiece. 

The review isn't positive.

"It's a pernicious law, one that a devastating new report suggests is largely to blame for our lackluster economy," an IBD editorial states. The report was House testimony offered by American Enterprise Institute fellow Peter Wallison Tuesday. -- NewsMax Finance http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/Investors-Business-Daily-Dodd-Frank-Law-Economy-Banks/2015/07/29/id/659475/
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Shared by James Harrison, Liang Old Town, China (Yunnon UNESCO Site)

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Renters can expect to pay 30.2% of their income on rent, according to a Zillow analysis of rental and mortgage affordability in the second quarter released Thursday. That is the highest percentage ever, said Zillow, which has data going back to 1979. -- Laura Kusisto in the Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/08/13/renters-spent-a-record-high-share-of-income-on-rent-this-spring/
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“The fact the builder confidence has been in the low 60s for three straight months shows that single-family housing is making slow but steady progress,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Missouri. “However, we continue to hear that builders face difficulties accessing land and labor.” -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34781-homebuilder-confidence-rises-in-august-to-highest-since-november-2005
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Shared by James Harrison, taken by A Lin, Rostov Veliky was founded in 862 on the shores of the sparkling Lake Nero. The first records of Rostov Veliky originated in the 9th century. Many prominent icon painters called this city home, and their work is reflected all over Russia. The city has a lot of amazing sites but the centerpiece of this historic town is its silver-domed Kremlin, one of the most attractive in Russia.

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First-time homebuyers between 2010 and 2013 were slightly younger than in the previous four-year period, according to Zillow. -- Andy Peters in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/first-time-homebuyers-slightly-younger-in-2010-2013-zillow-1059116-1.html
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Yesterday, Richard Bove, an equity research analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets, didn't mince words, saying his initial judgment of the Dodd-Frank Act as the worst piece of legislation in history was wrong: It’s actually worse than that. -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34812-dodd-frank-is-killing-america-one-community-bank-at-a-time
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Shared by Juwai, Gold Coast, Australia

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Today, the typical first-time homebuyer purchases a home that costs 2.6 times his or her annual income. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34809-heres-the-impact-rising-home-prices-have-on-millennials
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Josephine Country Cat
Chapter 7
Josephine and the Fireflies
https://www.createspace.com/5552704

When the School Districts Matter in Real Estate

....the survey also revealed that a great school district is almost twice as important to those who search online for their dream home on a weekly or monthly basis than those who only search annually. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34750-trulia-where-schools-matter-and-where-they-dont-in-homebuying
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Just over half of Americans — 52% — say they are likely to buy a home in the next five years, according to the 2015BMO Harris Bank Homebuyers Report.

In addition, Americans surveyed are willing to pay an average of $296,000 for a home and will average a 21% down payment. -- Trey Garrision in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34749-survey-52-of-americans-likely-to-buy-a-home-in-next-five-years

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Shared by James Harrison, taken by A Lin, Kizhi, Carelia, Russia.


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Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to today’s advance (first) estimate.  This follows a revised growth rate of 0.6 percent in the first quarter.     --Department of Commerce.

 

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Friday's employment report will be a flop, based on ADP's estimate for private payrolls which it sees rising only 185,000.
This is below the lowest analyst estimate for 190,000. It is also 20% lower than the 232,000 number ADP posited a year ago, and the weakest July since 2013. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34684-julys-employment-report-looks-ugly
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Shared and taken by Haris Vithoulkas, Athens, Greece.

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Distressed sales—real estate-owned and short sales—accounted for 9.9% of total home sales nationally in May 2015, down 2.8 percentage points from May 2014 and down 1.7 percentage points from April 2015, according toCoreLogic. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34699-distressed-sales-accounted-for-10-of-homes-sold-nationally-in-may-2015 
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The percentage of consumers who believe it is a good time to buy dropped to 61%, an all-time survey low­, right as summer is about to come to a close.
And the share of consumers who believe now is a good time to sell a home didn’t fare too much better, dropping 7 percentage points to 45%. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34720-consumers-dont-think-its-the-right-time-to-buy
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Shared by Paul Richardson, taken by Henk Meijer, Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany.

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The National Association of Realtors’ pending sales index went into a skid in June, falling 1.8% — expectations were for a 0.9% gain — the biggest drop since December 2013. The pace of the drop was what alarms analysts.
But taken in the long-run, and you have to do that in housing — any slowdown in existing sales will be set against much stronger growth in new home sales. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire  http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34724-can-this-sickly-housing-recovery-survive-without-artificially-low-interest-rates
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which celebrated its fourth birthday earlier this week, won’t see its fifth birthday if Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, has his way. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34552-sen-ted-cruz-introduces-bill-to-abolish-cfpb
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Shared and taken by Selim Ates, Istanbul, Turkey

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Excerpt from Josephine Country Cat

The goat recovered from his surprise. He moseyed over by Bill and cocked his head at the small white and black spotted cat rolling around on his ground.  He lowered his horns. Josephine paused in her bathing thinking he was going to butt Bill with his horns.  Instead, the goat bent down and took the skirt of the dress in his mouth, lifting Bill and all.  He started chewing the dress slowly. Bill started yelling.  She had protested Pearl’s grandchildren playing with her like a doll, but she knew this goat did not like cats.  Bill yelled and squirmed and kicked and wriggled. 

Josephine stopped washing.  Her eyes grew very round.  She knew Bill was in trouble.  Josephine dropped down from the pony’s rump and ran up to the goat.  She stood on her hind legs and beat a rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the goat’s face with her front paws.  Shocked, the goat dropped his jaw, releasing Bill.


Buy Josephine Country Cat!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0996451307
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Three Hours and Voila, a Two Story Villa

BEIJING: A Chinese company has assembled a 3-D printed two-story villa in less than three hours, complete with interior decoration, plumbing, wiring and other facilities.

A crane assembled modules of living room, bedroom, kitchen and restroom within less than three hours on July 17 in Xi'an, northwest China's Shanxi province.  -- Juwai.com http://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/two-story-villa-built-in-three-hours-in-china/48155754
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After five consecutive months of increases, pending home sales in June dropped 1.8% — expectations were for a 0.9% gain — the biggest drop since December 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire  http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34610-pending-home-sales-drop-for-the-first-time-in-2015
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Shared by Tina En, House on the bridge in Hebei province. China.

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The data revealed that the low-tier is closest to peak 2006 levels, with prices only 10.1% below 2006 peak levels.

Conversely, the mid-tier (homes selling between $120,000 and $345,000) is the worst performing segment with current price levels 24.8% below 2006 peak levels. This vast difference in market recovery underscores the continued challenges the majority of homeowners face, despite a quicker recovery in both the bottom and top segments of the market.  -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34656-the-housing-recoverys-great-big-weak-spot-mid-tier-homes

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Personal income in June 2015 increased 0.4 percent. Nominal personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.2 percent. Real PCE was virtually unchanged. Nominal disposable personal income (DPI) increased 0.5 percent.  Real DPI increased 0.2 percent. The personal saving rate as a percentage of DPI was 4.8 percent in June.  -- Department of Commerce
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Shared by Tina En, Thailand's White Temple

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Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in June 2015. Researchers obtained online good faith estimates for a $200,000 mortgage to buy a single-family home with a 20% down payment. Costs include fees charged by lenders, as well as third-party fees for services such as appraisals. The survey excludes discount points, taxes, title fees, property insurance, association fees, interest and other prepaid items. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34665-mortgage-closing-costs-drop-7-to-1847
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If you’re a city boy or city girl, then WalletHub has the list for you — the top 20 best cities to live in. Bonus, look down your nose at (or start planning to move out of) their list of the 20 worst big cities. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34669-the-best-and-worst-big-cities-to-live-in
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Shared by Walter Gronski, don't know where it is or who took it, but it is cool!

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Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.5% in June 2015 compared with June 2014, according to the June 2015 CoreLogic Home Price Index. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34674-corelogic-home-prices-rose-an-amazing-65-annually-in-june
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Mortgage applications increased 4.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31, 2015. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34683-mortgage-applications-jump-a-solid-47-in-last-week-of-july
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Shared by Beautiful Things, taken by Senna Relax, Portofino, Italy.

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So why are home prices increasing? "For the same reason that college tuitions are: because the government facilitates lending people money at concessionary rates to purchase them," Williamson maintains.  -- Dan Weil in NewsMax
http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/National-Review-Housing-Bubble-Economy/2015/08/05/id/665576/
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Josephine Country Cat
Chapter 3 Josephine Defends Her Home

Two moths rose from a turnip plant.  Josephine leapt and caught one in mid-flight.  Crouching next to a green  turnip leaf, she ate the moth.  Then she heard a dog trotting up the road.  She hurried around to the front corner of the house.  She growled a small kitten growl and hissed.  The dog continued up the road without looking at her.   She held her head high and flicked her tail.  She was Josephine, Guardian and Protector. 

US purchase link
https://www.createspace.com/5552704