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A glimmer of hope for the housing market

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The housing market got a glimmer of hope today after it was reported that mortgage applications rose by 3.4 percent last week. I am not going to try to pretend that this is going to mark the start of a new housing boom, but it does at least prove that people are still looking for new homes.

With last week's jump in mortgage applications, we have now moved to a 3-month high for demand for new mortgages in the nation. The last time that interest in new mortgages was at this level was back on May 11, indicating that the lower home prices are once again pulling buyers back into the market.

Another factor that is helping with last week's rise are lower interest rates. The average for new home financing right now is running at 6.45 percent for a 30-year loan, making the average monthly cost for each $100,000 borrowed to be $628.78 a month.

So while this is an encouraging sign for the overall market, let's make no mistake about it ... it is still a very tough market out there. Is this the first sign that things are changing? Let's hope so, but I hate to say that I still feel that there is going to be more downside before the real estate market turns around for good.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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Last updated: November 09, 2009: 01:57 AM

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