Housing Snapshot
Mortgage interest rates have been pushing slowly up again in the past couple of weeks as the economy has shown signs of stronger growth ahead along with the possibility of greater inflationary pressures, according to Amy Crew Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac. The Labor Department last week announced that 96,000 jobs were created in September, down from 128,000 in August. This was the fourth straight month in which there were fewer than 150,000 new jobs, which is the level that some believe is needed for jobs to keep pace with population growth. Unemployment for the month held steady at 5.4% and nearly 2 million new jobs have been added in the last 13 months. Another ongoing concern for the economy, oil prices climbed above $54 a barrel. Encouraging news continues to emanate from the lumber front, with the cost of framing lumber declining to $392 per 1,000 board feet, down from $398 on Oct. 1, according to Random Lengths. The price of 15/32-inch 3-ply sheathing has been sliding precipitously in recent weeks, falling to $350 per 1,000 square feet, down from $385 on Oct. 1 and $435 on Sept. 24. Oriented strand board has held at $285 for the past two weeks. Demand for panels has been on the decline as the peak building season has been winding down. [ MORE ]
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.82%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.24%
1-Year ARM: 4.08%
Housing Starts - Aug. 2004*
Total: 2.0 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.667 million
Multifamily Starts: 333,000
New Home Sales Aug. 2004*
1.184 million
Existing Home Sales Aug. 2004*
6.54 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate
