The housing market continued to show little sign of reaching a bottom in December as housing starts and permits fell again to cap off the first year of decline since 2009. Housing starts dropped by 1.4% on an annualized month-ago basis, while building permits fell by 1.6%. For all of last year, housing ... READ MORE >
mortgage rates
Housing starts and permits fall as the correction continues
Housing starts dropped for the third month in a row in November as the housing market continued to be in correction mode, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. There were 1.4 million residential starts on an annualized basis, falling short of the 1.7 million that we estimate are needed to meet ... READ MORE >
New home sales down 40% this year to lowest level since 2016
The slump in new home sales continued last month, dropping 12.6% to 511,000 annualized, following a 7.1% drop in June, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. With July's decline, new home sales for the year are off by nearly 40% compared to last year. The decline brought the sales number to the ... READ MORE >
New home sales rise unexpectedly despite higher mortgage rates
New home sales rose unexpectedly in May despite rising mortgage rates and an otherwise cooling housing market. The increase was driven by more supply coming online, pushing prices down for the first time since February. Sales increased by 10.7% on the month to 696,000 new homes annualized, after ... READ MORE >
Home sales dip in February amid rising prices and mortgage rates
Sales of existing homes dipped 7.2% in February after recording a sharp 6.6% rise in January, the National Association of Realtors reported on Friday. Elevated home prices and rising mortgage rates to above 4% for the first time since 2019 drove sales to decline on the month. Sales drops were seen from ... READ MORE >
U.S. new home sales declined in January
New home sales dropped 4.5% in January as high prices and increasing mortgage rates slowed demand, according to data from the Census Bureau on Thursday. The omicron variant and colder-than-usual weather in January also contributed to the decline. As a result, inventory levels increased to 6.1 months of ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Mortgage rates resume their downward march
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields have drifted lower over the past couple of months, bringing mortgage rates to the lowest levels in nearly six months and well below historical levels. The average rate for a 30-year loan was 2.77% on Aug. 5, the lowest since Feb. 11. The historically low borrowing costs, ... READ MORE >