Last week's economic news included readings on new and pending home sales and weekly reports on mortgage rates and new jobless claims. New Home Sales Exceed Expectations; No Growth for Pending Sales September sales of new homes reached a 10-year high with a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 667,000 new homes sold. Analysts said that high demand drove September sales past the expected rate of 555,000 sales and August's reading of 561,000 sales of new homes. September's reading was 19.9 percent … [Read more...]

Last week's economic reports included minutes of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee meeting held in September along with releases on inflation and weekly reports on mortgage rates and new jobless claims. FOMC Meeting Minutes Indicate December Rate Hike is No Sure Thing According to minutes for the September 19 and 20 meeting of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed has adopted a wait-and-see posture concerning a possible rate hike at December's meeting. Although … [Read more...]

Fixed mortgage rates rose by two basis points last week as the average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage dropped by two basis points.  Construction spending returned to positive territory, but job growth dropped in public and private sectors. National unemployment was lower. Construction Spending Rises in August Builders increased construction spending in August after July's reading dipped lower than June's reading. Construction spending rose by 0.50 percent in August, which exceeded … [Read more...]

Last week's economic news included readings on housing starts, building permits issued and sales of pre-owned homes. The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee issued its customary post-meeting statement and Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave a press conference. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also released. Housing Starts Lower, but Building Permits Increase August saw fewer housing starts with 1.18 million starts on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis. July's reading was … [Read more...]