Nation's Building News Online

NAHB-Supported Tax Bill a Major Plus for Builders and Other Small Businesses

Provisions of the economic growth package that NAHB helped … [ MORE ]

Building News From Coast to Coast

• Picture It: Yosemite, Palm Springs in China
• Engineer Advocates Using Earth Energy
• Life's a Permanent Vacation at Themed Retirement Communities
• Tax Breaks for Low-Cost Homes OK'd
• City's Plan for Housing a Success, Says Menino
• City Looks to Boost Small-Lot Building
• KB Home Ending Binding Arbitration Rule in Some Home Warranties
• Plugging Into the Sun

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Sponsored by: 2-10 Home Buyer's Warranty

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Confused about Subcontractor Agreements?
Structural Defects, Can They Happen to You?
Insurance Coverage a Challenge?

Bright Mid-Year Housing Outlook Good News for Nation’s Economy

In an upward revision of its forecast, NAHB now expects sales of single-family homes to set another record this year as the result of favorable developments in the government’s fiscal and monetary policies.

If the new NAHB projections are on target, 985,000 new houses will be sold this year, surpassing last year’s short-lived record of 973,000 units by about 1%.

While rough weather …  …[ MORE ]

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Housing Snapshot

As the Federal Reserve and others were expecting to see the economy soon start revving up for faster economic growth, mortgage interest rates climbed last week. While still remarkably low by historic standards, rates on fixed-rate home loans were at their highest level since mid-May. Bad news came from an unexpected surge in June's unemployment rate, to 6.4%, as 30,000 more jobs were lost and more workers were returning to the job market. Bucking that trend, since February construction has added 101,000 jobs. The new week opened with hopes that there would be further improvements in corporate earnings during this year's second quarter and that this would help sustain the stock market rally that began during the early spring. [ MORE ]

Mortgage Interest Rates

30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.4%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 4.75%
1-Year ARM: 3.49%

Housing Starts - May 2003*

Total: 1.73 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.38 million
Multifamily Starts: 354,000

New Home Sales May 2003*

1.16 million

Existing Home Sales May 2003*

5.92 million

* Seasonally adjusted annual rate

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