A Rally for Real Estate - 25% Increase in Mortgage Applications for Home Purchases

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey is a data point I often expose for anomalous factors, usually seasonal in nature. So when I read about a big year-over-year increase in mortgage applications for home purchases in the latest report my suspicion was aroused. However, after perusing through a pile of data, I found nothing of the sort. The year-to-year growth in activity has been sustained over recent reporting periods. Therefore I can confidently report that it truly reflects health in housing. See the full report on the healthy housing signal in mortgage activity.

Housing Relative Shares	02-10-16 to 12:40 PM ET
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+1.0%
SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB)	+1.5%
iShares US Real Estate (NYSE: IYR)	+1.5%
Pultegroup (NYSE: PHM)	+1.4%
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL)	+1.0%
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)	Unchanged
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)	+0.3%
MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG)	+3.4%
Radian Group (NYSE: RDN)	+1.4%
Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC)	+0.8%
iShares Mortgage Real Estate (NYSE: REM)	+0.5%
Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE: IVR)	+0.1%
New Residential Investment (NYSE: NRZ)	+0.2%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only. Editor's Note: Article should interest investors in Investors Title (Nasdaq: ITIC), Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC.OB), Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA.OB), UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: SRS), Ultra Real Estate ProShares (NYSE: URE), ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR), Xinyuan Real Estate Co. (NYSE: XIN), Rydex Real Estate Fund H (Nasdaq: RYHRX), T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq: TRREX), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Lennar (NYSE: LEN), K.B. Homes (NYSE: KBH), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR), Gafisa SA (NYSE: GFA), MDC Holdings (NYSE: MDC), Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Brookfield Homes (NYSE: BHS), Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF), M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO), Orleans Homebuilders (AMEX: OHB), Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSE: VNQ), PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowes (NYSE: LOW), Nasdaq: XNFZX, Nasdaq: FSAZX, Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR), Apartment Investment & Management (NYSE: AIV), Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB), UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR), Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), Senior Housing Properties (NYSE: SNH), BRE Properties (NYSE: BRE), Home Properties (NYSE: HME), Mid-America Apartment (NYSE: MAA), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), Colonial Properties (NYSE: CLP), American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Associated Estates (NYSE: AEC), PennyMac Mortgage (NYSE: PMT), Two Harbors (AMEX: TWO), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG).