Reports Boost the Housing Bull Case

Updated from 2:09 p.m. EST

Wednesday provided plenty of new grist for the housing debate -- most of which seemed to confirm that demand remains strong.

A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed a 17% on-year decline in its weekly Market Composite Index, a gauge of mortgage loan applications, while the report's index of new purchases rose 10.2% to 386.6. The component gauging refinancing declined 26% to 4151.9. Refinancing as a component of all mortgage loan activity dropped to 69.5% from 76.6%.

The sharp decline in refinancing comes after a surge that followed the half-point cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve last month, and it wasn't unexpected. It's also worth noting that the absolute levels, above 4000 for refinancing and above 320 for purchase, remain historically high. ...