Last Week in the News

Last Week in the News

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index was unchanged in September at 13. An index reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market.

The combined construction of new single-family homes and apartments in August rose 10.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units. The increase was largely due to a boost in the construction of multi-family homes. Applications for new building permits, seen as an indicator of future activity, rose 1.8% to an annual rate of 569,000 units.

Existing home sales rose 7.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units from an upwardly revised 3.84 million units in July. The inventory of unsold homes on the market declined 0.6% to 3.98 million, an 11.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 12.5-month supply in July.

The index of leading economic indicators — designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months — rose 0.3% in August after a 0.1% increase in July.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — fell 1.3% in August after increasing a revised 0.7% in July. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly increase of 2%.

New home sales were unchanged in August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 288,000 units, matching July, which was revised up from 276,000. Economists had expected a pace of 290,000 units.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 to 465,000 for the week ending September 18. Continuing claims for the week ending September 11 fell by 48,000 to 4.49 million.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on the housing price index on September 28 and construction spending on October 1.

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