Housing Snapshot - December 13, 2004 - 12/13/2004 - Mortgage Loan Refinance Debt Equity

Housing Snapshot - December 13, 2004

Mortgage interest rates headed down last week as the financial markets reacted to negative news from the Labor Department on job creation in November, according to Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. But Nothaft said he expected that a move by the Fed Open Market Committee this week raising its short-term interest rate to 2.25% would put upward pressure on adjustable rate mortgages. The general economy last week offered a mixed bag of news. Retail sales were up a slight 0.1% in November, but that was largely seen as an indication that sales during the crucial holiday season will see some impetus from consumers. Wholesale prices in November climbed 0.5%, a significant improvement over a 1.7% increase in October, but higher than the 0.1% that had been expected. Much of the improvement came from energy prices, which gained 1.8% last month compared to 6.8% in October. Natural gas prices were up; gasoline and home heating oil were down. Productivity growth was 1.8% in the third quarter, down from 3.9% in the second quarter, offering some hope that employers will soon be in a position where they have to hire more workers. New jobless claims were up for the second week in a row for the week ending Dec. 4, the Labor Department announced. On the lumber price front, upward momentum slowed during the middle of last week, according to Random Lengths. Framing lumber rose from $373 to $379 per 1,000 board feet, compared to $326 a year earlier. A record 46 billion board feet of lumber was available in the U.S. during the first three quarters of this year, Random Lengths reported, as production and imports rose to record levels and exports declined. Random Lengths' structural panel composite price climbed last week from $340 to $385 per 1,000 square feet.