by Calculated Risk on 10/26/2005 12:10:00 PM

Just some stories ...

MBA: Mortgage Application Volume Down in Latest Survey

"The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 7.4 percent ... from ... the previous week whereas the Refinance Index decreased by 8.5 percent..."

Denver: October housing market still soft

Sellers are having to make more concessions, having to adjust their prices downward," said Steve McGuire with Re/Max Professionals in Highlands Ranch. "Maybe we are seeing a little bit of a trend."

Florida: More houses in region hitting the market, tempering prices

A report by the Sarasota Association of Realtors due out this week shows listings in Sarasota County more than doubled in September to 1,331 compared with the same month last year.

In Manatee, listings for August jumped a whopping 157 percent compared with the same month last year.

The increase is mostly because of the longer time listings are remaining on the market.

More Mass. articles: Mass. home prices fall in September and Mass. housing market showing signs of fatigue

And on the possible Canary in the Coal mine (The UK, thanks to Joshua):

More homeowners in debt trouble

Mortgage repossession orders during the past three months in England and Wales were up 66% on a year ago to nearly 20,000, official figures have shown.
Repossession orders have been on the increase since early 2004.
...
The Department for Constitutional Affairs figures will add to concerns about debt and the housing market.

"The increase in mortgage possessions fits with the slowdown in house price inflation," Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas, said.

"The conclusion is there are still signs of financial stress among homeowners," he added.

Job losses will accelerate, predicts CBI

A gloomy picture of British manufacturing industry emerged from the latest CBI survey which predicts the loss of thousands more manufacturing jobs. ... The October survey of business by the Confederation of British Industry tells a sorry tale of declining order books and falling optimism brought on mainly by the tough conditions on the shopping high streets.
...
The CBI said: "Rising raw material and energy prices have continued to push up costs and hit profits. Against this background, firms are cutting back on their investment plans and expect the rate of job losses to increase."