Squelching murmurings of a decline in home values, CoreLogic reports a 6.4% appreciation rate for home prices since this time last year. Owning a home still is the surest way to create wealth and security for American families. Additionally, the number of transactions continues to climb, as shown in this graph:
The price of Mortgage Bonds continues to decline, on the other hand, putting upward pressure on interest rates. Over in Stocks, 71% of the S&P 500 companies have surpassed their earnings estimates for the third quarter. The three major indices have each recovered back up past the level they were at when the correction happened in August, though still off of the highs of the year experienced last May.
