Housing Snapshot
Mortgage interest rates declined slightly last week, down in part because of news of lackluster job creation in September. Oil prices remained a source of concern as they rose above $55 a barrel, but Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan provided some reassurance that the world is not running out of oil. Although high oil prices have been whittling away at economic growth, prices will have to rise even higher before they start having the deleterious impact seen in the 1970s, Greenspan said. In today's inflation adjusted-dollars, at their peak in 1981 oil prices were $80 a barrel. Also, Greenspan pointed out, the U.S. today is far more energy-efficient than it was two decades ago. Good news continued on the lumber price front last week. Framing lumber prices dropped to $378 per 1,000 board feet, down from $392 during the prior week, but still above $323 a year earlier, according to Random Lengths. News on panel prices was considerably more favorable. The price of 15/32-inch 3-ply Southern (west-east) exterior sheathing fell from $350 to $315 per 1,000 square feet and oriented strand board was down to $240 from $285. Those prices were down significantly from levels one year earlier of $545 and $465, respectively. [ MORE ]
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.74%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.14%
1-Year ARM: 4.01%
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
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