US mortgage applications down last week, rates up - 2004-01-28
Americans applied for less mortgages last week as a modest increase in mortgage rates broked three consecutive weeks of rising loan applications, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its market index, a measure of weekly mortgage activity, fell 5.2 percent in the week ended Jan. 23 to 868.9 as 30-year mortgage rates rose 0.03 percentage point to average 5.58 percent.
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Durable goods orders flat; new-home sales lower in December but makes record for 2003 - 2004-01-28
Orders for big-ticket goods were flat in December after dropping in November, highlighting the struggles America's manufacturers are dealing with as they try to get on firm footing.

For all of 2003, however, home sales totaled a record high of 1.09 million as low mortgage rates beckoned buyers. That represented an 11.5 percent jump from 2002, the previous best-year ever for sales. The average sales price of a new home last year was $244,800, a record high and up from $228,700 in 2002.
Read the full story at San Francisco Chronicle