Morning Briefing: Mortgage apps dipped at year-end

Mortgage apps dipped at year-end… Florida tops relocation destinations… Real estate exec splashes $3 million on Brooklyn condo…

Morning Briefing: Mortgage apps dipped at year-end
Mortgage apps dipped at year-end
Mortgage applications were down in the last week of 2016 compared to two weeks earlier.

The Mortgage Bankers’ Association’s index showed a 12 per cent drop on a seasonally-adjusted basis and a 48 per cent drop on an unadjusted basis. The refinance index was down 22 per cent while the purchase index was down 2 per cent seasonally-adjusted and 41 per cent unadjusted.
 
Florida tops relocation destinations
Florida saw the largest inflow of residents moving from another state followed by Texas and California.

The figures, based on activity in 2015, were revealed in the latest relocation report from the Texas Association of Realtors. It shows that 584,938 moved from another state to Florida; 553,032 moved to Texas; and 514,377 moved to California.

“The diverse job opportunities and high quality of life in Texas continue to drive in-state and out-of-state migration to Texas cities and counties, both big and small,” said Vicki Fullerton, 2017 chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. “This is the third consecutive year that Texas has gained more than 500,000 new residents from out of state.”

Texas was 3rd in the nation for the number of residents leaving the state however the large inflow meant a net increase of more than 100,000.
 
Real estate exec splashes $3 million on Brooklyn condo
The president of real estate firm Stribling & Associates has bought a Brooklyn condo for $2.9 million, the New York Post reports. Elizabeth Ann “EA” Stribling-Kivlan and her wife Rebecca Cleary have bought the 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The luxury condo development, Pierhouse, offers 24-hour concierge, fitness center, meditation studio, pet wash and a children’s playroom. There is also a hotel as part of the development.