JUST LISTED! For Lease- Regata in Wallingford, 1bd/1ba, $1295 http://www.seattlerentals.com/6973

Forecast for the Week  

It will be a quiet week when it comes to economic reports, but with the healthcare debate heating up in Washington and the Fed’s Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase program winding down, there are still plenty of events that could impact the markets and home loan rates.

On the economic report front, Thursday brings another Initial Jobless Claims Report. Last week’s Initial Jobless Claims met expectations, but the big news was that the report showed 5.7M people claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits, which was an increase of over 207,000 from the prior week. 

On tap for Friday is the Retail Sales Report, and as the most-timely indicator of broad consumer spending patterns, it is important to see how the numbers come in. In fact, last week’s Personal Consumption Expenditure report revealed that during January, consumers made less, saved less and spent more - but it remains to be seen if the increase in spending will show up in the Retail Sales Data.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.

As you can see in the chart, Bonds made some improvements during the week, but the gains were capped by a rally in Stocks and positive economic data. I’ll be watching closely as always during the coming week - and please feel free to contact me anytime to learn more, or discuss your own financial and home loan situation.

 Patrick Dunn, Westwood Mortgage Inc. & MMG Weekly
patrick@westwoodmortgage.com / http://www.certifiedplanning.com

JUST LEASED! Residences at 5th Ave, 1bd/1ba, $1300 & The Parc #1003, 1bd/1ba, $1350

Finally…and patience is truly a virtue.  The tremors started back in October (when we were hoping to close the first week of January) and I have to say now, my clients have been through it all! 

The dust has settled and it seems the larger majority of the kinks have been worked out…just looking forward to a successful close and the epic outcome of all the hype the new pricing has created.  More details to follow!

Just an FYI- the individual wine cellars in the wine cave will be managed and leased by the HOA.  Cellar capacity ranges from 18-30 bottles and will lease anywhere from $225 to $300 per year- renewed annually.

Just Listed- FOR LEASE! The Continental, 3bd/2ba, 1760 SF, $4000 https://www.seattlerentals.com/13552

Check out the NEW photo features on www.SeattleRentals.com- Gallery, Map & Street View…love it!

Escala cutting condo prices by 50 percent
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Kirsten Grind

Downtown Seattle condominium tower Escala will lower prices by as much as 50 percent on unsold units, the luxury building’s new marketing firm said Tuesday.

Rennie Marketing Systems and the building’s listing agent, Bellevue-based Teambuilder, declined to release price cuts on each unit, but said savings will range from 20 percent to 50 percent.

A 1,878-square-foot penthouse once priced at more than $4 million will now sell for $2.3 million, said Erik Mehr, a sales manager at Teambuilder. The building’s top-priced unit — a $12 million penthouse — is now selling for just under $7 million.

A one-bedroom, 952-square-foot condo will start at $384,000, a two-bedroom, 1,607-square-foot condo will start at $699,000 and a three-bedroom, 2,442-square-foot condo will start at $1.6 million.

Click here to read more!

Last Week in Review  
“LIKE SLUGGISH WATERS THROUGH A MARSH…” The poet Sir Walter Scott wasn’t talking about the economic recovery, but his words paint a pretty vivid picture…and after last week’s economic reports, perhaps a pretty accurate one on the state of the recovery.

Last week’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report showed that the economy grew 5.9% in the 4th quarter of 2009, which was in line with expectations and the best GDP reading in more than 6 years - which on the surface, sounds like a great number. However, the gains came from rebuilding of inventory and very modest business spending - not from consumer spending.  The biggest component of GDP is consumer spending and the revised number on that front came in lower than expected, and far worse than the 3rd Quarter of 2009, when the government’s Cash for Clunkers program temporarily boosted sales.

On the housing front, Existing Home Sales for January were reported at 5.05 Million units, which was less than expectation of 5.44 Million.  As you can see from the chart below, Existing Home Sales have now declined for two consecutive months. New Home Sales for January were also reported below expectations last week. 

Odds are that inclement weather affected the housing market negatively in January - since people are less likely to go house hunting in the midst of snowstorms and freezing temperatures. But in any case, last week’s data demonstrated that the housing market remains a bit lethargic.

The good news is that today’s affordable home prices and amount of supply on the market - not to mention low rates and the government’s Homebuyers Tax Credit - present tremendous opportunities for homebuyers who are looking for a great deal.

Chart: Existing Home Sales (By Month)

So how do consumers feel about the economy? Last week, we got a look at two different reports…and both indicated that consumers don’t share the rosy outlook of politicians and the media. Consumer Confidence was reported at 46.0, which was much lower than expectations of 55.0. In addition, the University of Michigan reported that Consumer Sentiment also fell in February. Both reports pointed to ongoing concerns over employment as a major reason for the drop in consumer attitudes about the economy.

Forecast for the Week  
This will be a big week of news, starting off right away Monday morning with reports on Personal Income and Personal Spending. We’ll also get a look at the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), which is the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation.

As if that weren’t enough news for one day, we’ll also see the Institute for Supply Management Index on Monday. This is the king of all manufacturing indices and is considered the single best snapshot of the factory sector, so the markets will be paying attention to this report.

Toward the end of the week, we’ll get another look at employment and housing with the reports on Initial Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales on Thursday.

Finally, the week ends with a bang when the official Jobs Report is released. This report includes the latest government data on job losses and the unemployment rate, as well as the average work week and hourly earnings. With the ongoing concerns over the struggling job market, it will be important to get a current read on the situation.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.

As you can see in the chart below, Mortgage Bonds were able to rally last week on weak housing numbers and the struggling jobs market, resulting in improved home loan rates. I’ll be watching carefully in the week ahead to see if Bonds and home loan rates can build on their positive momentum.

Chart: Fannie Mae 4.5% Mortgage Bond (Friday Feb 26, 2010)

Patrick Dunn, Westwood Mortgage Inc. & MMG Weekly
patrick@westwoodmortgage.com / http://www.certifiedplanning.com

March 12th 2010- Built Green Conference at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue- check it out! http://www.builtgreenconference.com/