Housing inventories at the end of the month slipped 0.8% to a total of 2.4 million existing homes available for sale, representing a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace.
Lereah said that interest rates have been rising because of healthy economic growth and he predicted that they won’t dampen the strength of the nation’s housing market.
“In fact, mortgage interest rates will remain very favorable in historic terms for the foreseeable future,” he said. “One concern is for lower-income home buyers who are affected the most by a rise in financing costs — our hope is that the improving job market will provide the means to also afford decent housing at the lower rungs of the housing ladder.”
Lereah predicted that the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage will rise to the 6.7% level by the fourth quarter of this year.
Mark Your Calendar for NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference
Get the latest forecasts on housing starts, project budgets and other economic bellwethers of the housing industry at NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 27. Click here for more information.
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