INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... All of us who boldly stand for a continuing housing recovery should be careful to not fall for some of the negative spin put on last week's report that Existing Home Sales were down 1.9% in September. The naysayers quickly pounced on this as evidence we should brace for a housing slowdown. But wait a minute. September sales were at the third highest monthly level since late 2009, when the home buyer tax credit was about to go away. The two months that scored higher than September were this July and August, so the dip comes after two very strong reports.

The fact is, Existing Home Sales are at a 5.29 million annual rate, up 10.7% over a year ago. The median price is up 11.7% from a year ago, the tenth month in a row of double-digit year-over-year gains. The months' supply is at 5.0, versus the 5.4 level of a year ago. For those worried about affordability, HousingWire recently reported that the average household can afford to live in at least 80% of the homes on the market. Buyers, no longer worried about values dropping, pushed purchase mortgage applications up 1% for the week ending October 18, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.