“It’s official: housing is back on solid footing.  The sales of newly constructed homes continued their upward trend in April, rising 2.3% over the March numbers.  Today’s new home sales number bookends yesterday’s strong existing home sales report and provides ample evidence that Americans are becoming bullish on housing.”

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 “The powerful combination of all-time low mortgage rates and home prices that were significantly reduced after the housing crisis is fueling demand. It’s quite likely that we will look back on this period as being among the best times in history to purchase a home. As the economy continues to firm, the likelihood that interest rates will rise increases and home prices will continue their upward climb as well.”

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Existing Home Sales

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“While the drop in mortgage applications is disappointing, it is important not to grow overly concerned about week-to-week figures. The real question is if the rise in home prices is real and sustainable, or a blip driven by a market that is lacking a healthy selection of homes.”

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 10, 2013) – Team Penske today announced AJ Allmendinger will continue to enhance his IZOD IndyCar Series experience as he competes for the team at the upcoming Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, May 31-June 2.

Allmendinger will drive the No. 2 Quicken Loans Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet at the newly-configured 2.3-mile Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit. As Allmendinger continues to get reacquainted to open-wheel racing this season after establishing his NASCAR career the last seven years, the Belle Isle race weekend will provide plenty of opportunity for experience. The event will host the first-ever INDYCAR doubleheader weekend as Allmendinger and the rest of the series drivers will compete in races on both Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m excited to race in Detroit. It’s a huge event for Chevrolet and it will be an honor to drive the Quicken Loans Chevy in the hometown of both of those organizations,” said Allmendinger. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge to compete in two races in one weekend but it’s a great opportunity for me to continue to improve and hopefully come away with two strong results at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans.”

Allmendinger joined the Team Penske IZOD IndyCar Series program this season as he returned to his open-wheel racing roots. The 31-year-old native of Los Gatos, California, raced at Barber Motorsports Park and at Long Beach in April and will drive the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske machine in the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.

“We are excited to see AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of the Quicken Loans IndyCar here in Detroit,” said Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quicken Loans. “The entire Quicken Loans team is thrilled about the Grand Prix coming to our hometown, and now we have even more reason to cheer.”

After rising through the open-wheel ranks, Allmendinger emerged as a young star in the Champ Car World Series posting five wins and 14 podium finishes from 2004-06. He transitioned to stock car racing full-time in 2007 and he has enjoyed a solid career in NASCAR the past six seasons. Allmendinger parted ways with the Penske Racing NASCAR team last season.

The opportunity to reconnect with Team Penske emerged during the off-season as the team was looking for a third driver to work with Helio Castroneves and Will Power during select events in 2013. Originally scheduled to only compete at Barber and Indianapolis, Allmendinger has been solid in his return to IndyCar racing and Team Penske continues to look for opportunities to give the personable racer more experience adding races at Long Beach and now Detroit.

“We would like to thank Quicken Loans for their partnership and for providing this opportunity to race AJ in the Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle,” said Roger Penske. “With Penske Corporation, Chevrolet and Quicken Loans all calling Detroit home, this truly is a special event and we are excited to see AJ in action in the Quicken Loans Chevy.”

Allmendinger continues to show his diversity by also competing in NASCAR while he reconnects with his open-wheel heritage. He has raced in four Cup Series events this season for Phoenix Racing in addition to his IndyCar Series starts.

About Quicken Loans:
Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s largest online home lender and the country’s third largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed a record $70 billion of volume across all 50 states in 2012. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked #1 in customer satisfaction among all home mortgage lenders in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Quicken Loans also ranked among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE Magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 10 consecutive years. It ranked in the top-15 of Computerworld magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work In Technology” for the past eight years, ranking in the top-5 in 2012. The company recently moved its headquarters and more than 7,000 of its nearly 10,000 team members to downtown Detroit. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit quickenloans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at facebook.com/QuickenLoans.

About Penske Racing
Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 366 major race wins, 425 pole positions and 24 National Championships, including the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. The team has also earned a record 15 Indianapolis 500 victories in its storied history. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.

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“Strong refinance volume quietly continues amid a national conversation dominated by news of rising home prices and lack of inventory. Record low interest rates coupled with the HARP program aimed to help underwater homeowners, continues to drive refinancing.”

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“The lack of homes available for purchase has forced potential buyers into bidding wars. This clash of supply and demand has pushed home prices higher. While this is welcome news for sellers or those underwater on their mortgages, the lack of housing inventory has been troubling for both first time homebuyers and those looking to upgrade from their current property.”

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“Despite a housing market that is struggling for available inventory, the continued demand for homeownership is music to the economy’s ears. Better yet, many traditional buyers seem to be re-entering the market making for a stronger recovery.”

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“Since 2010, new home sales have been rising at a slow, but steady pace.  A combination of pent-up demand for housing, historically low interest rates and attractive home prices are driving, and will continue to drive, this trend.”

The two graphs below illustrate the steady rise in home prices over the last few years.

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New Home Sales 2010 – Current

New Home Sales 2006 – Current

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“Today, April’s showers doused the hot housing market. This was not entirely unexpected, as housing inventories are lagging far behind demand. While this scenario is good for home values, it also has a detrimental effect on sales as consumers need choices when shopping for a home.”

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“Projections of declining refinance activity seem to be premature as rates dipped amid the Bank of Japan moving into quantitative easing, causing a rally in the bond market. Look for refinance volume to stay strong driven by historically low rates and aided by the millions of HARP eligible underwater homeowners who still could benefit from refinancing.”

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