Housing Snapshot
Mortgage interest rates last week remained lower than expected, but they could be on the rise this week in reaction to nuances in the Federal Reserve's recent announcement that it had decided not to tighten monetary policy at the current time, while hinting that such a move is inevitable at some point further down the road. Construction spending rose to an all-time high in December, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $933.2 billion, led by the nation's home builders, who continued to break ground on new residential properties at a near-record pace. The price of framing lumber was down by a tad last week, according to Random Lengths, falling to $352 per 1,000 board feet, down $2 from the previous week. Prices for oriented strand board and plywood continued to advance, although at a slower pace than in recent weeks. The mill price for 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX Southern Westside plywood was $430 per 1,000 square feet, up from $245 a year earlier; and OSB climbed to $415 compared to a year-earlier cost of $174. [ MORE ]
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.68%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 4.97%
1-Year ARM: 3.59%
Housing Starts - Dec. 2003*
Total: 2.088 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.664 million
Multifamily Starts: 397,000
New Home Sales Dec. 2003*
1.060 million
Existing Home Sales Dec. 2003*
6.47 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate