by Calculated Risk on 5/29/2014 08:59:00 PM

From the WSJ: Borrowers Tap Their Homes at a Hot Clip

A rebound in house prices and near-record-low interest rates are prompting homeowners to borrow against their properties, marking the return of a practice that was all the rage before the financial crisis.

Home-equity lines of credit, or Helocs, and home-equity loans jumped 8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance said Thursday. The $13 billion extended was the most for the start of a year since 2009. Inside Mortgage Finance noted the bulk of the home-equity originations were Helocs.

While that is still far below the peak of $113 billion during the third quarter of 2006, this year's gains are the latest evidence that the tight credit conditions that have defined mortgage lending in recent years are starting to loosen.

This is still a low level (not really a "hot clip"), but this is an increase from last year. I've been expecting Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW) to turn positive soon, and maybe the Q1 Flow of Funds report will suggest positive MEW (to be released by the Fed on June 5th).

Friday:
• At 8:30 AM, Personal Income and Outlays for April. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in personal income, and for a 0.2% increase in personal spending. And for the Core PCE price index to increase 0.2%.

• At 9:45 AM, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for May. The consensus is for a decrease to 61.0, down from 63.0 in April.

• At 9:55 AM, Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (final for May). The consensus is for a reading of 82.5, up from the preliminary reading of 81.8, but down from the April reading of 84.1.