Mortgage applications drop: lowest level in 9 years...

In One Town, Nearly Half Of Residents Out Of Work...

Mortgage applications drop to lowest level in 9 years...

Home-Purchase Index in U.S. Plunges to Lowest Level Since 2000

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgage applications to purchase homes in the U.S. plunged last week to the lowest level in almost nine years as Americans waited for the outcome of deliberations to extend a government tax credit.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to buy a house dropped 12 percent in the week ended Nov. 6 to 220.9, the lowest level since Dec. 2000. The group’s refinancing gauge rose 11 percent as interest rates decreased, pushing the overall index up 3.2 percent.

The drop in buying plans points to the risk that the recent stabilization in housing will unravel without government help. In a bid to sustain the recovery, Congress passed and the administration signed a bill last week to extend jobless benefits and incentives for first-time homebuyers, adding a provision that also made funds available to current owners.

“But now that Congress has extended and expanded the credit, we should see demand pick back up.”

Rates Fall

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 4.90 percent last week from 4.97 percent two weeks ago. The rate reached 4.61 percent at the end of March, the lowest level since the group’s records began in 1990.

At the current 30-year rate, monthly borrowing costs for each $100,000 of a loan would be $530.73, or about $84 less than the same week a year earlier, when the rate was 6.24 percent.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage decreased to 4.33 percent from 4.34 percent the prior week. The rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage increased to 6.85 percent from 6.83 percent.

Combined sales of new and existing homes were up 24 percent in September from the lowest level in at least a decade in January, helping pull the market out of its worst slump in seven decades.

Rising demand, in turn, has helped stabilize home values and construction.

More Orders

Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, yesterday said orders surged 42 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, cancellations slowed and revenue beat analysts’ estimates.

In One Town, Nearly Half Of Residents Out Of Work...

Mortgage applications drop to lowest level in 9 years...

Home-Purchase Index in U.S. Plunges to Lowest Level Since 2000

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgage applications to purchase homes in the U.S. plunged last week to the lowest level in almost nine years as Americans waited for the outcome of deliberations to extend a government tax credit.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to buy a house dropped 12 percent in the week ended Nov. 6 to 220.9, the lowest level since Dec. 2000. The group’s refinancing gauge rose 11 percent as interest rates decreased, pushing the overall index up 3.2 percent.

The drop in buying plans points to the risk that the recent stabilization in housing will unravel without government help. In a bid to sustain the recovery, Congress passed and the administration signed a bill last week to extend jobless benefits and incentives for first-time homebuyers, adding a provision that also made funds available to current owners.

“But now that Congress has extended and expanded the credit, we should see demand pick back up.”

Rates Fall

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 4.90 percent last week from 4.97 percent two weeks ago. The rate reached 4.61 percent at the end of March, the lowest level since the group’s records began in 1990.

At the current 30-year rate, monthly borrowing costs for each $100,000 of a loan would be $530.73, or about $84 less than the same week a year earlier, when the rate was 6.24 percent.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage decreased to 4.33 percent from 4.34 percent the prior week. The rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage increased to 6.85 percent from 6.83 percent.

Combined sales of new and existing homes were up 24 percent in September from the lowest level in at least a decade in January, helping pull the market out of its worst slump in seven decades.

Rising demand, in turn, has helped stabilize home values and construction.

More Orders

Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, yesterday said orders surged 42 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, cancellations slowed and revenue beat analysts’ estimates.

Not a lovely sign Mr. T So no 8k bs no sales I hear the 100 year trend line a calling. It is quite a tad away south of today's prices. Regression to the mean the most powerful magnet in $. You can only delay but you cannot make it go away.

the first article is sad, but they should just close down the town and emmigrate.

Reports: Tulsa foreclosures rise

Section 8 overwhelmed with applications
Friday is deadline for Section 8 waiting list
There are 7,107 families seeking housing vouchers, capacity 4,554.

By MIKE AVERILL World Staff Writer

The Tulsa Housing Authority will close its waiting list for the Section 8 voucher program on Friday, according to officials.
There are 7,107 families on the Section 8 waiting list, and the program is at capacity with 4,554 vouchers issued.

"We're closing the waiting list because we believe it's socially irresponsible to give people false hope, because the wait is now more than two years," said Chea Redditt, president and CEO of the Tulsa Housing Authority.
The oldest application on the list is from December 2007, said Terri Cole, vice president of assisted housing.

The bad economy has caused an upswing in the number of applications, Redditt said.
"We have seen an exponential growth in applications on a weekly basis. A few months ago we had under 5,000. Now we have more than 7,000 in a matter of months," Redditt said.
A year ago there were 3,192 applicants on the waiting list.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the Section 8 program, is funding the Tulsa Housing Authority's program at only 90 percent.