Builder Confidence and Construction Activity Both Go Up

Builder confidence rose for the fourth straight month and residential construction stats may now be trying to catch up. Both construction permits and housing starts rose in February compared to both January and February 2023 levels. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said new residential construction began on a seasonally adjusted pace of 1.521 million units last month. This is 10.7 percent higher than the 1.374 million units reported in January and 5.9 percent more than the level a year earlier. Single-family starts rose 11.6 percent for the month to a rate of 1.129 million units and were up 35.2 percent year-over-year while multifamily starts increased by 8.5 percent. They retreated however by 35.9 percent on an annual basis. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, construction started on 108,100 units during the month, 79,200 of which were single-family houses. The January numbers were 97,400 and 69,700 respectively. Permitting also increased, although not as dramatically. Authorizations were at a seasonally adjusted level of 1.518 million, 1.9 percent higher than the 1.489 million estimate the previous month. The year-over-year change was +2.4 percent. Single-family permits were up 1.0 percent to 1.031 million, 29.5 percent higher than a year earlier. Multifamily permits increased 2.4 percent but lagged the prior February by 32.8 percent. Permits issued during the month totaled 118,300, up from 114,800. Single-family permits increased from 75,900 to 79,300.

March 19, 2024 Download our Mobile App: Download our Mobile App: Housing News Builder Confidence and Construction Activity Both Go Up Builder confidence rose for the fourth straight month and residential construction stats may now be trying to catch up. Both construction permits and housing starts rose in February compared to both January and February 2023 levels. The U.S. Census ... (read more) MBS Commentary Ceiling Survives But Wednesday is The Test Ceiling Survives But Wednesday is The Test Any trading day without a big ticket economic report or Fed announcement faces an uphill battle on the road to relevance. Today was no exception with only Housing St... (read more) Mortgage Rate Watch What Will The Fed Do To Mortgage Rates on Wednesday? Mortgage rates were roughly unchanged on Tuesday, capping a short but meaningful losing streak over the past 6 business days. During that time, the average 30yr fixed rate move back into the low 7s and came close enough to the 2024 ceiling from 3 wee... (read more) Rob Chrisman POS, TPO, Automation, DPA Tools; HECM, FHA, USDA News; Housing Starts and Permits One never knows what one will learn at a mortgage event, like yesterday learning from Lender Toolkit’s Alex K. that Collinsville, Illinois has the largest catsup bottle in the world. (The Collinsville area produces 60 percent of the world’s horseradi... (read more) Mortgage Rates 30 Yr. Fixed Rate 7.11% +0.00% Rate Change Points Mortgage News Daily 30 Yr. Fixed 7.11% 0.00 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 6.63% -0.01 0.00 30 Yr. FHA 6.61% -0.01 0.00 30 Yr. Jumbo 7.40% 0.00 0.00 7/6 SOFR ARM 6.82% +0.02 0.00 30 Yr. VA 6.64% -0.01 0.00 Updates Daily - Last Update: 3/19 15 Yr. Fixed Rate 6.63% -0.01% Rate Change Points Freddie Mac 30 Yr. Fixed 6.74% -0.14 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 6.16% -0.06 0.00 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 3/14 Rate Change Points Mortgage Bankers Assoc. 30 Yr. Fixed 6.84% -0.18 0.65 15 Yr. Fixed 6.37% -0.29 0.77 30 Yr. Jumbo 7.04% -0.17 0.38 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 3/13 MBS / Treasuries UMBS 30YR 5.5 98.98 +0.27 Price / Yield Change MBS UMBS 5.5 98.98 +0.27 UMBS 6.0 100.53 +0.22 GNMA 5.5 99.28 +0.20 GNMA 6.0 100.42 +0.25 Pricing as of: 3/19 5:31PM EST 10 Year US Treasury 4.2930 -0.0350 Price / Yield Change US Treasury 2 YR Treasury 4.689 -0.047 5 YR Treasury 4.299 -0.050 7 YR Treasury 4.311 -0.043 10 YR Treasury 4.293 -0.035 30 YR Treasury 4.439 -0.010 Pricing as of: 3/19 5:31PM EST Latest Video Howard Hughes CEO: The amount of incentives a homebuilder needs to offer ri... Fed will have to dent optimism over rate cut expectations, says Northwester... Expect three rate cuts, says former PIMCO chief economist Expect Fed to be more measured with rate cuts: Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Son... Around the Web Marketwatch Fed is 'so far from equilibrium' as markets await rate guidance, BlackRock's Rick Rieder says Marketwatch Negative-interest-rate era is over. Was it the 'dumbest idea' in economic history? CNBC Home prices rose 2.4 times faster than inflation since 1960s, study finds. What that means for homebuyers CNBC Fed could cut rates fewer times than expected as economy keeps growing, according to CNBC survey CNBC The best time to sell your home in 2023, listings in this period sold for $7,700 more, research finds Calculated Risk Blog Housing Starts Increased to 1.521 million Annual Rate in February CNBC Homebuilder sentiment turns positive for the first time since July CNBC Treasury yields dip as Fed meeting is due to kick off CFPB Submission of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to the Appraisal Subcommittee Regarding Oversight of the Appraisal Foundation Calculated Risk Blog Single Family Starts Up 35% Year-over-year in February; Multi-Family Starts Down Sharply Calculated Risk Blog LA Port Traffic Increased Sharply Year-over-year in February Calculated Risk Blog California February Existing Home Sales increase 1.3% YoY, Prices up 9.7% YoY Fannie Mae Higher Mortgage Rate Forecast Leads to Decline in 2024 Home Sales Expectations

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