Greenway's Markets in a Minute I Lots of excitement from builders
Minutes from the last Fed meeting affirm obvious coronavirus concerns and underscore the Fed's recent actions to keep rates low. |
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Stocks have continued to rally after hitting a pandemic low in March, with some indices reaching new highs. However, mortgage rates have not risen, as often happens when stocks rally. |
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Continuing unemployment claims fell last week, though initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose back above 1 million, perhaps signaling a setback for the struggling job market. |
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes jumped 6 points to 78 in August, a record high for the NAHB Housing Market Index. |
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Homebuilding picked up for a 3rd straight month in July, with residential starts jumping by 22.6%. Construction surged at the highest rate since 2016, beating expectations. |
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Permits for future construction increased 18.8%, the most since January 1990. The 1.5 million annual rate topped the median estimate and is now above the February pre-pandemic rate. |