The Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported on the 17th that August housing starts, on a seasonally adjusted basis, saw single-family homes, which account for the bulk of residential construction, rise 7.6% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 918,000, rebounding from July's more than three-and-a-half-year low. Compared with the same month a year earlier, single-family starts rose 5.2%. Meanwhile, single-family building permits fell 1.8% from the previous month to 878,000, but were up 1.3% year on year. Starts of the volatile multifamily segment of buildings with five or more units fell 22.5% to 344,000, and were down 15.5% year on year. Overall housing starts fell 2.6% to 1,275,000, and were down 1.2% year on year. Multifamily building permits fell 3.1% to 467,000, while overall building permits fell 2.7% to 1,394,000, though they were up 3.5% year on year. With conflict in the Middle East pushing crude oil prices above 100 dollars a barrel and driving up US long-term Treasury yields, mortgage rates have surged; according to data from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, the average weekly rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.76% last week, the highest level in more than a year.
Freddie MacFreddie Mac data cited showing 30-year mortgage rate at 6.76%, a one-year high, driven by rising Treasury yields; the company is only the data source, not a subject of the story.
