Weekly Mortgage Market Update for January 12th, 2018

For the Week Ending January 12, 2018

Please enjoy this quick update on what happened this week in the housing and financial markets.

Producer prices fell for the first time in nearly 1-1/2 years in December. This could temper expectations that inflation will accelerate in 2018.

Unemployment benefit claims increased for the 4th straight week, to a 3-month high. Likely due to weather, the change doesn't signal weakness in the labor market.

The implemented tax reform is already being credited for increased economic growth. Multiple companies are reported to be passing savings on to workers.

CORRECTION FROM LAST WEEK: The final tax reform plan does not allow taxpayers to deduct interest for either new or existing home equity loans. We apologize for the error.

Mortgage applications on newly constructed homes rose 18% in December from the previous month. The applications were 7.8% higher than December 2016.

The seller of a 9,000-sq-ft mansion in Malibu is willing to accept bitcoin as part of the payment. The volatile cryptocurrency is not usually used for home purchases.

Home equity has hit a new record high, reported to be $5.5 trillion. Remodeling spending topped $152 billion in 2017 and is forecast to increase in 2018.

How long have I been working for this company? Ever since they threatened to fire me.

Rate movements and volatility are based on published, aggregate national averages and measured from the previous to the most recent midweek daily reporting period. These rate trends candiffer from our own and are subject to change at any time.