By: Fred Arnold

A large company, feeling it was time for a shake-up, hired a new CEO.

The new boss was determined to demonstrate his decision making ability and wanted to immediately take action to rid the company of all slackers.

On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business.

He walked up to the guy leaning against the wall and asked, ‘How much money do you make a week?’

A little surprised, the young man looked at him and replied, ‘I make $300 a week. Why?’

The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, ‘Here’s four weeks’ pay, now GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE and don’t come back.’

Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, ‘Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?’

From across the room came a voice, ‘Yeah, he’s the delivery guy from Domino’s Pizza.

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Trusted Authority Edge, helping to find your strengths Coach, Byron Davis

Who should we believe about housing…the economic reports released this week…or the real estate and mortgage professionals in the field every day throughout the United States?

This week three different housing reports were released indicating that the real estate market is not as strong as people think.  However…when you speak with most real estate and mortgage professionals you will find that they are busier than they have been in quite a few years working with buyers. I know I am swamped with interested Buyers!

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

The housing market index shows some improvement this month which is an indicator that the new home market is improving slightly.  The contrast to this is when you speak to an agent working at a new home construction site they will tell you that the volume of buyers is strong. The irony of the housing report is that it indicates that buyer traffic has slowed dramatically yet in every market I have checked, nothing could be further from the truth.  I may not have access to all the data these so called experts have, but what I am seeing and hearing is quite different.

April housing starts which indicated a slow down.  However housing permits increased more than expected.  April housing starts declined 16.5 percent after rising 5.4 percent in March. The bright side to the report is that April starts are 12.1 percent higher than the same time last year.  The key indicator to focus on in this report is that multifamily construction was responsible for the majority of the reported decline.  Multifamily construction dropped 38.9 percent after a 25.6 percent gain in March. The single-family aspect of new construction only slipped 2.1 percent in April after declining 4.4 percent the month before.

Mortgage rates have quickly reversed direction and have been rising for just over a week.  The recent upward movement has negatively impacted mortgage applications for purchases and refinances.  The good news is that despite the decline, mortgage applications for purchases still remain at the highest point since the real estate meltdown.

Economic reports for next week are:

Wednesday May 22nd – MBA Report, Existing Home Sales and FOMC Minutes

Thursday May 23rd – First Time Jobless Claims, FHFA House Price Index and New Home Sales

Friday May 24th 2013 Durable Goods Orders

As your mortgage professional, I am happy to assist you with any information you may need regarding mortgage or real estate information.  I welcome the opportunity to serve you in any way I possibly can.  Please feel free to reach me at 661-505-4300.

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