Financial Markets
The Dow closed at 14,089 Friday, and investors appear to be unaffected by the mandatory budget cuts that automatically kicked in as a result of a stale mate in Congress. The high water mark represents the highest close in 5 years for the Dow, as Consumer Sentiment and US Manufacturing surpassed forecaster expectations, while Construction Spending and Personal Income missed their projected marks.
Interesting factoid, March and April have been positive months for the Dow since 1950, with average gains of 1% in the stock market. If the trends hold, we could expect slightly higher mortgage rates for these two months.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
According to the below article and Zillow statistics, the number of home owners that have negative equity has made noticeable improvements over the past year. According to Zillow, by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2012, 59.2% of home owners in Southern Nevada are underwater, which is down from over 70% just a year earlier. While an estimated 197,434 homeowners are still underwater, roughly ¼th of them have 20% or less negative equity. The gap between Southern Nevada and the rest of the nation is closing with regards to 90 day delinquencies, with Southern Nevada at about 14.5%, while the rest of the nation is hovering around 8.9%. It certainly appears that the ascension to the surface from the abyss is well underway for Las Vegas home owners.
Have a great week! For more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
