There were more mortgages applications for home purchases than refinance last week for the first time in five years. Consumer borrowing also picked up in March by the largest amount in a year. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen struck an optimistic note about the U.S. economy, though she noted a bit of concern about the housing market.

Investment in both residential and commercial real estate – as a percentage of GDP – has been slowly recovering since the worst of the recession, but no category of real estate is yet at the rate of investment of previous decades. Home prices nationwide increased 11.1 percent in March 2014 compared with the same month a year earlier. Also in March, the country experienced a trade deficit of $40.4 billion, down from $41.9 billion in February.

Friday’s employment numbers came in better than expected, posting the largest employment rise in about two years. And the Office of the Inspector General termed accusations of falsified data on the 2012 report baseless.

The Federal Open Market Committee reports an uptick in economic activity since its last meeting in March, though GDP barely grew in the first quarter of 2014. Good news comes from ADP, which reports 220,000 jobs added in April.

Home prices are still going up on an annual basis, though not as much as they have been. And the first quarter of 2014 is showing renewed strength in U.S. apartment markets.

January marked the 40th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity declined on an annual basis. And the bellwether Southern California residential market logged its lowest January home sales in three years.

Newly appointed chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen said that the central bank will probably continue to taper its stimulus program, despite the recent short run of disappointing employment numbers. Job openings on the last business day of December were down slightly. The House passed a measure that extends the borrowing authority of the government, no strings attached, for another year.

The House is said to vote on some measure of raising the debt ceiling again. The Vegas real estate market is showing a partial recovery.