From its peak in October 2012, mortgage applications have collapsed 66% and this week printed at new 13-year lows. Since rates started to crack on Taper talk in May 2013, mortgage applications have fallen in a one-way street (but hey, rising rates won't affect the housing recovery, right? remember 15% mortgages... as the usual bullshit meme goes, entirely missing the shift in house prices, affordability, and marginal price-setter). Of course, the usual 'seasonal' effect wil be blamed and recovery will re-blossom in the new year... except, seasonally this is among the worse drop in the last few weeks of the year in the last decade. Adding further salt to the wound of wealth generation, the refi index has dropped to a fresh 5-year low as the home equity ATM remains shut (having dropped 73% in the last few months).
New 13-year low in mortgage applications...
[4]
and no - its not seasonals, its worse...
But hey, the Fed's economic-confidence inspiring Taper will fix all this and housing will rise once again... on the shoulders of cheap money Wall Street landlords...
Charts: Bloomberg