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va mortgage rate
New Home Sales Surge, But Confidence Ebbs
By Chris Reese NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes surged to a record in March as buyers looked to stay ahead of rising
mortgage rates, overshadowing a drop in consumer confidence this month to the lowest level since November as Americans struggled with higher gasoline prices. New home sales jumped a massive 12.2 percent to a record 1.431 million unit annual
rate in March, way above forecasts of 1.195 million units. The increase was the largest monthly jump since September 1993, when new home sales rose 12.6 percent. "When (interest)
rates were rising, people were probably trying to get through the door," said Gary Schlossberg, senior economist with Wells Capital Management in San Francisco. The jump follows data released on Monday showing a 1.0 percent increase in March existing home sales to the third-highest level on record. However, even though Americans snapped up new homes last month, they complained this month that their confidence in the economy was faltering, a research group said. The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence dropped to a five-month low of 97.7 in April from a revised 103.0 in March. The fall was only slightly below forecasts of a drop to 98.0. "The confidence numbers are probably a touch weaker than expected and in all likelihood reflect the fact that oil prices, hence gasoline prices, have been edging up and are quite high," said Rick Egelton, chief economist at BMO Financial in Toronto. The research group's expectations index declined to 87.2, its lowest in nearly two years, from 93.7 in March. Consumer spending makes up about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and worsening confidence is seen as a precursor to softer growth. However, the correlation between confidence and actual retail sales has weakened in recent years. April's weaker confidence reading was not evident in the housing market in March, and analysts assume such a furious pace of home buying will support consumption as homeowners purchase furniture and other items for their new dwellings. Continued ...
Source: reuters.com