Housing Snapshot
Mortgage interest rates declined slightly last week for the fourth week in a row, a sign that the financial markets are still not convinced that the jobless economic recovery is nearing an end. Earlier in the week, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence was down in September, largely because of unemployment concerns. But the week ended with a report from the Labor Department showing that the economy added 57,000 jobs in September and that losses in August were less than half the original estimate of 93,000. The stock market reacted positively to the good news, but it is too early to say that the U.S. economy is out of the woods. [ MORE ]
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.77%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.10%
1-Year ARM: 3.72%
Housing Starts - Aug. 2003*
Total: 1.82 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.48 million
Multifamily Starts: 344,000
New Home Sales Aug. 2003*
1.15 million
Existing Home Sales Aug. 2003*
6.47 million.
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate