Market Update: Rates Climb Higher, Existing Home Inventory Rises, and New Home Sales Data is Coming Up This Week

Blog posted On April 24, 2023

Mortgage rates trended slightly higher last week. Not only is the dust settling from the banking events in March, but there has been data showing signs of strengthened economies, including higher inflation levels from the UK. Why does data from the UK matter? Because data like this affects overseas bonds, which oftentimes spills into U.S. bond movement, which affects interest rate movement. Other happenings last week include signs of increased home builder confidence in April and existing home inventory in March. The median existing-home sale price decreased.

Coming up this week, we have news on new home sales and pending home sales. The new home sales report tracks the sales of newly constructed homes and accounts for about 10% of total residential real estate transactions. The pending home sales index tracks changes in the number of homes that are under contract but not yet closed. Both pending sales and new sales increased in March, up 0.8% and 1.1% respectively. They are both predicted to increase again this month as spring buying season heats up.

Other important reports coming up this week include the core PCE index and consumer spending for March. The core PCE index is the Federal Reserve’s preferred method of measuring inflation, which has been a key report affecting rate movement.

Stay tuned for more important market updates!  

Sources: Mortgage News Daily