The American housing market deteriorated sharply in September as rising mortgage rates drove pending home sales to a record low and sent home construction tumbling, according to reports released Tuesday.
\n\nThe National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales plunged 7.3 percent in September, far worse than the 0.5 percent decline economists had expected. The index fell to 66.0, its lowest level since the series began in 2001. Pending sales were down 11.3 percent from a year earlier.
\n\nSeparately, the Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 5.2 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.221 million homes, well below economists’ expectations of approximately 1.3 million. Starts were 7.4 percent below their year-earlier level.
\n\nThe disappointing figures follow a report Monday showing that confidence among American home builders plunged to its lowest level in more than 14 years, adding to evidence that the recent surge in mortgage rates is taking a heavy toll on residential real estate.
\n\nThe average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed from 6.66 percent in late August to 7.28 percent at the beginning of October, according to Freddie Mac. It reached 7.40 percent on October 8 and remained there…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/
