Federal Judge Yanks 'No Surprises' Certainty From Habitat Conservation Plans

Judge Emmet Sullivan, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, last week dealt a blow to efforts by the home building industry to conserve endangered or threatened species under the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) program.

On June 10, Judge Sullivan ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to stop issuing Section 10 Incidental Take Permits (ITPs) with No Surprises assurances — the primary incentive for builders and developers under the HCP program — until the agency completes its work on the Permit Revocation Rule (PRR). …

Housing Snapshot

Mortgage interest rates continued to rise slowly last week, as housing analysts awaited a decision by the Federal Reserve Board at the end of this month that is virtually certain to increase the federal funds rate by one-quarter or one-half of a percentage point. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said that the Fed's move to higher interest rates could be good news for long-term, fixed-rate mortgages to the extent that the return to sterner monetary policy reduces expectations for inflation. The Commerce Department announced a $48.3 billion U.S. trade deficit in April, which was disconcerting news, but an encouraging 1.2% pickup in retail sales in May. Lumber prices remained high, but seemed to have lost some of their upward momentum last week. The price of framing lumber declined by $10, reaching $426 per 1,000 board feet, according to Random Lengths. That price was a considerably lower $298 one year earlier. The price of 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX southern west-east plywood declined $12 to $398 per 1,000 square-feet, and oriented strand board remained unchanged at $400.

Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate	6.30%
15-Year Fixed-Rate	5.67%
1-Year ARM	4.14%
Housing Starts - Apr. 2004*
Total	1.969 million
Single-Family Starts	1.610 million
Multifamily Starts	359,000
New Home Sales Apr. 2004*	1.093 million
Existing Home Sales Apr. 2004*	6.64 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate