The stock market continues to rise and there seems to be little headwind now to slow it down.

• Employment continues to remain strong and inflation is virtually non-existent.
• The pleasurable thing about the current market rally is that it has not been accompanied by major swings in the indices.
• The Dow is up just over 160 points for the first four days of trading this week, and none of the days have seen stomach turning movement.
• It is a gradual and steady growth.

There were two positive housing reports released this week further supporting that the real estate market continues to be on track for slow but steady growth.

• The report on pending home sales showed an increase of 3.5 percent from January to February.
• This reverses the prior month’s decline of 3.0 percent.

The Case-Shiller House Price Index showed prices continue to rise.

• Home prices for the 20-city adjusted index increased 0.8 percent for the month of January.
• It is likely that with the spring market starting to take hold in many parts of the country, home price appreciation will likely increase as demand increases.
• Prices are 5.7 percent above the same time last year.

The strongest gain in home prices was in the West.

• Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington showed a monthly gain of 1.5 percent.
• San Diego and Los Angeles followed with a 1.1 percent gain.
• Surprisingly Chicago and Detroit were next with a 1.0 percent rise.
• Shortages of available homes for sale, especially in the Pacific Northwest, are a major factor in the rapid rise of home prices.

Applications for purchase mortgages rose by 2.0 percent for the week of March 25th.

• Refinance applications declined by 3.0 percent.
• Mortgage rates have risen slightly over the last couple of weeks which has not been deterring buyers.
• Refinances are much more rate sensitive which is why we have seen a more-steady decline in this area of mortgage financing.

Surprisingly, the never ending nonsense going on in politics has yet to dampen consumer confidence.

• The index for measuring this remains at a very healthy 96.2 for March.
• This follows the upward revision of February’s measurement to 94.

Finally, the labor department reported a gain of 215,000 jobs for March.

• The unemployment rate increased to 5.0 percent from 4.9 percent.
• T he increase was due to more people jumping back into the labor force looking for employment which is a positive sign for labor growth.
• Wage increases continue to remain almost stagnant which is one of the reasons why inflation remains virtually non-existent.

Next week week’s potential market moving reports are:

• Monday April 4th – Factory Orders
• Tuesday April 5th – ISM Non-MFG Index & JOLTS Report
• Wednesday April 6th – MBA Applications & EIA Petroleum Status & FOMC Minutes
• Thursday April 7th – First Time Jobless Claims

As your mortgage and real estate professional, I am happy to assist you with any information you may need regarding mortgage or real estate trends. I welcome the opportunity to serve you in any way I possibly can. Please feel free to reach me at (661) 505-4300.