by Calculated Risk on 6/21/2015 12:36:00 PM
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Update: The Inland Empire Bust and Recovery
One of the areas I focused on during the housing bubble and subsequent bust was California's Inland Empire.
Way back in 2006 I disagreed with some analysts on the outlook for the Inland Empire. I wrote:
As the housing bubble unwinds, housing related employment will fall; and fall dramatically in areas like the Inland Empire. The more an area is dependent on housing, the larger the negative impact on the local economy will be.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Schedule for Week of June 21, 2015
by Calculated Risk on 6/20/2015 08:41:00 AM
The key reports this week are May New Home sales on Tuesday, the 3rd estimate of Q1 GDP on Wednesday, and May Existing Home Sales on Monday.
For manufacturing, the May Richmond and Kansas City Fed surveys will be released this week.
8:30 AM ET: Chicago Fed National Activity Index for May. This is a composite index of other data.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Near June Lows
by Calculated Risk on 6/19/2015 04:19:00 PM
From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Near June Lows
Mortgage rates took a few more steps in the right direction today and have now made it back to levels not seen since the beginning of June. Only the first 2 days of the month were any better. That said, the month began with a quick jump to the highest rates in more than 8 months, and they've only been falling gradually since then.
STR on Hotels: "The Best Fundamentals (Maybe in Our Lifetime)"
by Calculated Risk on 6/19/2015 01:17:00 PM
First from HotelNewsnow.com: Record US results set stage for more growth
April 2015 saw the highest annualized occupancy in the U.S. hotel industry’s history, [Amanda Hite, president and COO of STR said].
During the 12 months ending in April, demand was up 4.5%, which is above the industry’s 20-year compound annual growth rate of 1.6%.
BLS: Twenty-Five States had Unemployment Rate Increases in May
by Calculated Risk on 6/19/2015 10:44:00 AM
From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in May. Twenty-five states had unemployment rate increases from April, 9 states and the District of Columbia had decreases, and 16 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
...
Nebraska had the lowest jobless rate in May, 2.6 percent. West Virginia had the highest rate among the states, 7.2 percent. The District of Columbia had a rate of 7.3 percent.


