Stonegate Mortgage

>> Market Update QUOTE OF THE WEEK... "Discontent is the first necessity of progress" --Thomas Edison, American inventor INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Many people were not very content with last week's Pending Home Sales report. This measure of contracts signed to buy existing homes fell 0.4% in June. For some observers, that raised concerns about future Existing Home Sales. However, the prior month's report measured Pending Home Sales up 5.8%, so one could reasonably e...xpect a rebound in existing home closings come July. We'll see. There was absolutely no discontent expressed around the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index. This revealed home prices in 20 major U.S. metros were up 1% in May and up a very impressive 12.2% versus a year ago. By this index's measure, home prices are still down from their peak in 2006. But the peak-to-trough decline is now about a third smaller than it was as recently as March 2012. This is a national average. Home prices in two of Case-Shiller's 20 cities have actually hit all-time highs, going past peaks set in 2007 and 2006! BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Productivity experts suggest following a simple daily routine to stay on track. Take 5 minutes at the start to set the day's goals. Then check how you're doing every hour. Spend a few minutes at the end of the day to evaluate your results.