Mortgage rates surged to a 23-year high this week. The rate on the average 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 7.31% from 7.19% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac. That’s the highest rate since mid-December 2000, when it averaged 7.42%.
Before Washington and the government shutdown stole all the headlines, the U.S. stock market was whipping up a good deal of enthusiasm about reports of fourth quarter earnings. Because the Securities & Exchange Commission gives companies more time to file end of the year annual financial reports than run of the mill quarterly reports, earnings season for the fourth quarter is especially drawn out, but we still get some important bellwether reports this week
Existing home sales in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had projected a 5.52 million annual rate. The May total is up from April’s revised total of 5.56 million and is 2.7% above the pace in May 2016.
Tomorrow, Friday december 23, we get news on new home sales in November. Coming after some market weakness this week and before the long Christmas holiday (financial markets are closed on Monday, December 26), this report has the power to set the tone for a few days. Especially because U.S. mortgage rates are up since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on December 14.
For the day, at least, strong economic news from the United States has sent the euro into retreat against the U.S. dollar.
In today’s numbers pending home sales increased by 0.2% in November. That was the first increase in six months and comes after revised figures for October showed pending sales fell by 1.2%. Even though the November increase was a positive sign after six months of declines, it was below the median projection of a 1% increase among economists
New home sales increased 3.6% in July to an annualized rate of 372,000—matching a two-year high–from 359,000 in June, according to figures from the Commerce Department today, August 23. Economists had expected new home sales to increase to an annualized 368,000.
Sales of existing homes dropped by 0.8% to an annual rate of 5.05 million in April, but initial claims for unemployment fell to 409,000 for the week ended on May 14.
