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. [ MORE ]
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
