You’ll be happy to know that I have stepped down from my soap box with regards to the absence of Capitalism in the new era of the mortgage industry
Financial Markets
The Dow Jones experienced a relatively mild week of trading, as the high and low for the week were within 129 pts of each other. The Dow ended the week down slightly, and ended at 12,380. The threat of a government shut-down was averted late Friday, which could result in a rally of sorts when the market opens on Monday morning.
Generally speaking, bonds saw selling pressure as a result of a deteriorating US Dollar (against the Euro). A weak dollar translates into inflation. Inflation translates into selling pressure in bonds, and ultimately higher mortgage rates, which is what we saw Friday.
Local Real Estate and Economy
March home sales reached over 4,300, up more than 1,000 from February of this year. Over 50% were cash buyers. Roughly 26% of the sales were short sales and 47% were foreclosures, for a total of 73% that were “distressed” sales. Below is a link to the Las Vegas Sun for more specifics of the sales data.
An innovative Health Care mixed use project was revealed this weekend that is projected to bring 17,000 jobs to the Henderson area over the next several years. The project, Union Village, could break ground as soon as the end of 2011.
