The Cascade Team Blog

Mortgage rates trended lower toward the beginning of last week. Home price appreciation climbed slightly in February. New home sales jumped in March. Mortgage application submissions increased. Continuing jobless claims decreased and initial jobless claims decreased. The Q1 GDP estimate for 2023 fell. Core inflation rose, personal income remained unchanged, and consumer spending rose. 

MORTGAGE RATES CURRENTLY TRENDING

THIS WEEK'S POTENTIAL VOLATILITY

• Dave Stevens discusses the risk from LLPA changes. Listen Now >>
• Buyers are unfazed by rate trends. Read Now >>
• New home sales beat expectations in March. Watch Now >>

• The FHFA house price index increased by 0.5% month-over-month in February and 4% year-over-year – both higher than expected.
• The 20-city Case-Shiller home price index inched up 0.1% month-over-month in March and 0.4% year-over-year. Both increases were higher than expected, but the 0.4% annual rise is much lower than the 2.6% annual rise in March.
• New home sales surged beyond expectations in March, rising 9.6% month-over-month to reach a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 683,000 – a notable step ahead of the 630,000 expected by economists. The rise comes as a relief to the inventory-starved market.
• Mortgage application submissions climbed 3.7% during the week ending 4/21. The Refinance Index increased 2%, while the Purchase Index climbed 5%.
• Continuing jobless claims decreased to a level of 1,858,000 during the week ending 4/15. Initial jobless claims decreased to a level of 230,000 during the week ending 4/22.
• The GDP estimate for Q1 was at 1.1%.
• Pending home sales fell 5.2% in March, suggesting a decrease of closed sales in the coming months.
• In March, inflation on the core PCE index remained unchanged month-over-month and increased 4.6% annually. Consumer spending in March rose 3.7% and personal income increased by 0.3%.

  This week's important economic reports include:

Fed interest rate decision