Housing Snapshot
Mortgage rates rose slightly last week amidst speculation in the financial markets that the Federal Reserve at its Dec. 9 meeting would hint at the possibility that it would increase its Federal Funds interest rate sooner rather than later. News from the jobs front in November was encouraging, if not spectacular, with a decline in the unemployment rate to 5.9%. This represented the creation of 57,000 new jobs. On lumber prices, the markets have begun to provide convincing evidence that plywood and oriented strand board costs are in decline. According to Random Lengths, 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX Southern Westside plywood last week fell from $430 to $360 per 1,000 square feet. OSB declined even more sharply, from $425 to $325. Framing lumber nudged down from $346 to $342 per 1,000 board feet. [ MORE ]
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate: 6.02%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.36%
1-Year ARM: 3.77%
Housing Starts - Oct. 2003*
Total: 1.96 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.617 million
Multifamily Starts: 343,000
New Home Sales Oct. 2003*
1.105 million
Existing Home Sales Oct. 2003*
6.35 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate