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MONTH IN REVIEW It's a Numbers Game Second-quarter lending statistics and unexpected economic data are capturing the nation's housing headlines. also recorded a 0.2 percent in- crease on an unadjusted basis. July 27 Homeownership Rate Edges Up in Q2 August 3 Jobs Numbers Surprise Economists The nation added a surprising 163,000 jobs in July, but the un- employment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent as the number of people working actually declined, accord- ing to the latest numbers from the Labor Department. Additionally, June's paltry job gains—origi- nally reported at 80,000—were reduced to 64,000 while May's job numbers edged up to 87,000 from 77,000. Economists expect- ed payrolls to grow by 100,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 8.2 percent. And mean- while, the employment-population ratio, which measures the number of people employed against the entire over-16 population without qualifying definitions used to determine "unemployment," dropped to 58.4 percent. August 2 Mortgage Rates Tick Up After Three Months Freddie Mac announced that after more than three months of record-low drops, mortgage rates slid up to start August. Freddie 14 | THE M REPORT Mac's survey showed that the 30- year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.55 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 2, up from 3.49 percent the previ- ous week. Before this week, the average 30-year FRM had fallen to or matched record low levels for 13 of the past 14 weeks. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at the GSE, said the rising rates were caused by the economy's stunted growth in the year's sec- ond quarter. July 31 Refinance Applications Rise; Highest Since January Mortgage applications went up 0.2 percent during the final week of July as refinance volume rallied at levels not seen for the past several years. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) found the refinance share of mortgage activity ticking up to 81 percent of total application volume, the highest since January this year, while the Refinance Index climbed 0.8 percent to its highest level since April 2009. The increase in refinance activity also saw a 6 percent decline in govern- ment refinance applications. The MBA's Market Composite Index The nation's homeownership rate rose to 65.5 percent in the second quarter, according to data from the Census Bureau. However, the bureau revised the homeownership rate for the first quarter to 65.4 percent (off of the originally reported 65.5 percent), the lowest since Q1 1997 when the rate was also 65.4 percent. The Census Bureau also reported the homeowner vacancy rate fell to 2.1 percent nationwide, down from 2.2 percent in the first quarter and 2.5 percent one year ago. The highest homeownership rate in the second quarter was in the Midwest—69.6 percent, up from 69.5 percent in the first quarter but down from 70 percent one year ago. July 25 Pending Home Sales Down, According to NAR June's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) dipped 1.4 percent for the month, dropping to 99.3 from a downwardly revised 100.7 in May, as recorded by the National Association of Realtors. Economists had expected a 0.9 percent increase to 101.6. After pos- itive reports earlier this month—an increase in builder confidence mea- sured by the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index, a jump in starts, and a pop in the median price of an existing home—housing statistics have faltered with a drop in sales in both new and existing homes. The PHSI had been rising steadily until April. Existing home sales rose in the last half of 2010 before leveling.