Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate-
Economic Up-date, September 28th, 2009

Re-printed by permission from:

Mike Platt--Senior Loan Officer
Prospect Mortgage
1885 Seminole Tr., Suite 100
The Keller Williams Bldg
Charlottesville  VA  22901
Mike's Awesome WebSite

The index of leading economic indicators — designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months — rose 0.6% in August after an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in July. It was the fifth straight monthly increase.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending September 18 rose 12.8% to 668.5, the highest since the week ending May 22. Purchase volume rose 5.6% to 288.3. Refinancing applications increased 17.4% to 2,881.5.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 21,000 to 530,000 in the week ending September 19. The figure was lower than the 550,000 that economists had forecast. The number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits in the week ending September 12 fell by 123,000 to 6.14 million.

Existing home sales fell 2.7% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million units from 5.24 million units in July. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell 10.8% to 3.62 million, an 8.5-month supply at the current sales pace, and the lowest level in more than two years.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — fell 2.4% in August after rising 4.8% in July. Economists had anticipated orders for durable goods would rise 0.5%.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for September rose to 73.5 from 65.7 in August. Economists had forecast a reading of 70.3. It was the highest reading since January 2008.

The Commerce Department reported new home sales rose 0.7% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 429,000 from a downwardly revised rate of 426,000 in July. Economists had expected a sales pace of 440,000 units.

Thanks Mike for this analysis of our National Market.

Why don't you call or e-mail me so we can discuss what impact and effect this all has on our Local Charlottesville real estate market!?

Fulton W. Gaylord--Assoc Broker, SRES, ABR, e-Pro
Authorized HUD Representative, Certified REO Specialist
Keller Williams Realty
1885 Seminole Trail, Suite 100
Charlottesville  VA  22901
434-220-2228

Fulton@KW.com