By Tony Stevenson/SWBC Mortgage
Concerns over a euro breakup stifled a rally Friday leaving the DOW to close at 11,866.39 for the week. Here in the U.S., Congress seems to have worked out a short-term deal to extend the tax cuts for the middle class while the GOP attached a bill that forces the administration to make a decision on the Canadian-U.S. oil pipeline deal in the next 60 days.
The nations job market is healthier than at any time since the great depression according to a recent article in the S.A. Express News. The same article continued to state that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since May 2008, a sign that the waves of corporate layoffs that have defined the past few years are all but over.
The National Retail Federation said it now expects the holiday sales for the November and December period to rise 3.8 percent to a record $469.1 billion. That’s up from its more modest 2.8 percent forecast made in early October. Uncle Ben and the boys (the Fed) met last week and portrayed the U.S. economy as slightly healthier and held off on any new steps to boost the economy. The Fed’s job is to monitor inflation and determine how it will react to inflationary pressures. They have promised to keep interest rates low and have even said they have other means or tools to address those concerns should the occasion arise.
To keep up with demand, U.S. businesses increased their stockpiles by a seasonably 0.8 percent in October. Another small-but welcomed early Christmas present is that crude oil prices dropped after OPEC countries decided to boost its official production quotas which helped cause oil to drop to $94.95 a barrel. I paid $2.99 a gallon this past week. I was actually happy paying under $3.00 a gallon for once.
Local Economic News
“S.A. is named nation’s top-performing city” was a headline in last week’s S.A. Express News. The Milken Institute has ranked San Antonio as the nation’s best-performing city for 2011 in its annual ranking of 200 metropolitan areas. The City ranked 14th in 2010. Reasons given for the jump in rank include the military realignment, drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale, and the growth of health care. Overall, Texas cities dominated the top of the Best-Performing Cities list, with El Paso ranking #2, and Austin-Round Rock at #4. The Texas State Comptroller’s Office said that Texas’ economy is moving more fully into recovery with job growth and higher than-expected tax revenues. Good news continued for San Antonio-area job seekers in November when 1100 jobs were created and the cities unemployment rate fell to a 16-month low t of 7.2% according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Austin’s jobless rate is at 6.8% compared with the State’s rate of 8.1%.
Real Estate and Mortgage Industry News
Another recent headline stated, “S.A. Home Sales-Slow and Steady”. The San Antonio real estate market appears to be wrapping up a year that looks much like 2010, the article stated. The area’s median home price was $152,000 compared to 2010 at $149,000. “San Antonio has always been a slow and steady market,” said Scott Caballero, outgoing chairman of the board of SABOR (S.A. Board of Realtors). Keep in mind that San Antonio and Austin’s real estate market has a trickle-down effect to the Texas Hill Country. Both cities economy are doing well, which has had a very positive outlook for homebuyers to the areas.
Finally, Freddie Mac reported Mortgage rates on the 30 year fixed rate index fell to 3.94%, matching the record-low set briefly in October. Do you want to give yourself an early Christmas present? Look at buying investment properties. Mortgage rates are low in that area as well. Plus, home prices have stabilized causing more buyers to enter the playing field.
Economic Data Due this week: This is the week for home indexes. But, do not forget the Euro zone and how markets will react this week. Monday: Home Builders Index. Tuesday: New Home Starts. Wednesday: Existing Home Sales. Thursday: GDP. Thursday: Weekly Jobless Claims. Thursday: Freddie Mac releases weekly Mortgage rates. Thursday: Consumer Sentiment Index. Friday: New Home Sales. Friday: Durable Goods Orders. Friday: Consumer Spending.
( This article is for informational purposes only. Do not use this article as financial advice. If you do not want to receive this email, please reply “remove” in the subject line. For questions or comments, please call Tony Stevenson at 1.800.460.6990 or email: tstevenson@swbc.com)
Sincerely,
Tony
Stevenson
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