10/10/2022
NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE
Residential Construction Spending slipped a tick (less than 1%) in August. But home builder spending is still 12.5% higher than a year ago, so, more new homes will keep coming on the market.
ShowingTime reports the decline in home showing traffic is leveling off, as buyers get back into the market. What’s drawing them are less competition and more listings, so they have more options and more time to decide.
Black Knight’s home price index found home prices fell 0.98% in August after a 1.05% drop in July, the largest monthly price declines since 2009. The median home price is now down 2% below its June peak.
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
WHIPSAW WEEK... Stocks began the week rallying on the belief the Fed would soon go easy on rate hikes, but ended with a big sell-off after a decent September jobs report indicated the Fed will have to stay aggressive.
The problem was, an unexpectedly low 3.5% unemployment rate indicated labor market strength that would keep the Fed boosting rates to cool down the economy and inflation. Stocks still booked nice weekly gains.
Earlier in the week, there was evidence of economic cooling with weaker-than-expected ISM Manufacturing and Construction Spending. But the ISM Services Index showed that huge sector of the economy solidly expanding.
The week ended with the Dow UP 2.0%, to 29,297; the S&P 500 UP 1.5%, to 3,640; and the Nasdaq UP 0.7%, to 10,652.
Bond prices went in the other direction, the 30-year UMBS 5.5% down 0.04, to $99.08. The national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell three basis points (0.03%) in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Remember, mortgage rates can be extremely volatile, so check with your mortgage professional for up-to-the-minute information.
