According the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index, home values are now just 12.5 percent off their April 2007 peak nationwide. This after a half-percent monthly increase in prices in May,on average.

Analysts expect that a net 65,000 jobs were lost in July. Wall Street — and Main Street — have a big interest in those results.

Friday’s July Jobs Report Could Spur Mortgage Rates Higher

June’s Pending Home Sales Index is weak by most measures, but if you’re a home buyer, the headlines aren’t so bad. Fewer home sales can push negotiation leverage to the buy-side of a transaction.

The fiscal responsibility of a homeowner extends beyond the mortgage’s basic principal and interest repayments. Homeowners are also responsible for the real estate taxes on the home and its insurance premiums, too.

Non-Farm Payrolls hits the wires Friday at 8:30 AM ET. Markets are expecting a 75,000 net loss of jobs last month. If the actual number is higher, mortgage rates should rise. If the actual number is lower, mortgage rates should fall.

No doubt you’ve heard that mortgage rates are low. They’re lower than they’ve ever been in history. The news is everywhere. But the low rate environment looks like it’s ending.

For the second consecutive month, U.S. consumer confidence is plunging. July’s official reading is its lowest since July of last year and the figures run in stark contrast to just two months ago, when the index touched a multi-year high.

Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, between April and May 2010, home prices rose in 19 of Case-Shiller’s 20 tracked markets. It’s the second straight month of strong Case-Shiller findings.

June’s New Home Sales data is a major improvement over May, but gains are relative. It’s possible that the true “new home market” may be softer than the statistics suggest.

Mortgage rates rose last week, but only slightly. Rate are still hovering near their lowest levels of all-time.