Home Builders Launch Tort Reform Initiative

Building on the success of efforts to pass state Notice and Opportunity to Repair laws in last year's legislative sessions, NAHB is raising the industry's profile as a major player in reforming the country's civil justice system.

Earlier this year, the association formed a partnership …

Housing Snapshot

The pace of new housing construction cooled down some in January, but remained at a robust level despite some weather problems in various parts of the country. Mortgage interest rates continued to recede, and Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft reported that they were "at seven-month lows and teetering on the 45-year low levels of last summer." Despite a 0.5% increase in January's inflation rate that was attributable primarily to gasoline and energy prices, Nothaft observed that, "There continues to be no sign of inflation on the horizon and, as a matter of fact, core inflation is at a generational low." It was 0.2% in January. Lumber prices continued to rise last week, although at a somewhat slower rate than the prior week. Random Lengths reported that framing lumber was $384 per 1,000 board feet, up $10. The mill price for 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX Southern Westside plywood was up $20 to $485 per 1,000 square feet, up from $240 a year earlier; and oriented strand board climbed $17 to $487, compared to $197 during the same week in 2003.

Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate	5.58%
15-Year Fixed-Rate	4.87%
1-Year ARM	3.53%
Housing Starts - Jan. 2004*
Total	1.903 million
Single-Family Starts	1.537 million
Multifamily Starts	339,000
New Home Sales Dec. 2003*	1.060 million
Existing Home Sales Dec. 2003*	6.47 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate