The U.S. housing market is sputtering again, adding to doubts about the vigor of the economic recovery
Fear of Double Dip in Housing
Home Starts Tumble and Mortgage Delinquencies Rise, Casting Cloud Over Recovery
Just a few months after housing showed signs of leveling off, bad weather and uncertainty over the extension of a home-buyer tax credit sent new-home starts in October tumbling 10.6% from the previous month. They fell to the lowest level since April, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Starts of single-family houses fell 6.8%.
On Wednesday Pulte Homes Inc., the nation's largest home builder, warned investors of a grim outlook. "As we look out to 2010, we are expecting difficult conditions to continue," said chief executive Richard Dugas.
For borrowers with strong credit records, 30-year home mortgages are available for fixed rates of just under 5%, near the lowest levels in 50 years. That is helping demand, but many people can't get such loans because they have too much debt or are unemployed.
So mortgage rates are at their lowest level in 50 years, but, despite that, mortgage applications are at their lowest level in 12 years.
Something’s wrong here, you think.
