U.S. existing home sales fall again in September; jobless claims fall

(Reuters) – U.S. existing-home sales fell for an eighth straight month in September and are likely to slide further in coming months as The housing market continued to outperform in the economic arena, absorbing the blow of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. T The generally weak report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday contrasted with another strong reading on the U.S. job market, labor The ministry reported an unexpected drop in initial jobless claims last week. The two reports illustrate the uneven impact of the Fed’s quickest series of rate hikes in at least four years so far. Interest-rate-sensitive housing market, demand for more living space during the pandemic due to then-low borrowing costs and COVID-19 soaring demand – limits, as interest rates on the most popular form of home loan soar to near 7% growth Widely Influenced – Highest in

year. But other areas of activity, from the job market to consumer spending, have had little impact so far, suggesting the Fed may still have work to do to reduce overall demand that has kept price pressures high.

The U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark overnight rate from near zero in March to the current 3.% to 3.000%, based on Fed officials’ own forecasts and recent Comments, the rate is likely to end in the mid-4% range. No more seller’s market Existing-home sales fell 1.5% y/y on a seasonally adjusted basis 4. 00 million units last month, NAR said. Outside the brief plunge in spring , when the economy faltered from the first wave of COVID-19-, the lowest level of sales since September 214. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales would fall to 4 times. 000 million units. Regionally, sales declined in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, and were unchanged in the West. home resale, which accounts for the majority of U.S. home sales, decreasing .8% This week’s data shows that home builders are eroding For a month in a row in October, starts for new single-family housing projects fell to their lowest level in more than two years in September. Mortgage rates, which move in tandem with U.S. Treasury yields, surged even higher. This12 – The average annual fixed mortgage rate is 6.12% Last week, the highest

years, from 6.12% During the previous week, according to Mortgage Financial Institutions

The data100 Freddie Mac

(OTC: 400FMCC

). NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said September sales numbers do not reflect the latest spike in mortgage rates, within a month rose by about a percentage point. As a result, he expects the sales rate to fall further in the coming months, possibly as low as 4.5 million units per year, which would be about 4% to 5% lower than the current sales pace.

Although house price growth has slowed as demand has weakened, tight supply has kept prices high. The median existing home price rose 8.4% year over year to $50,214 in September. There are 1. million second-hand houses, down 0.8% from a year ago. “The details of the report suggest that housing is no longer a seller’s market,” said Arne, chief financial economist at Jefferies Ta Markoska wrote. “Through this summer, house prices continued to rise despite falling demand; possibly because supply was also suppressed. However, the balance of power has finally shifted from sellers to buyers.”

Labour market remains strong Meanwhile, so far there has been little sign that the labor market is easing significantly or that employers are turning Layoff mode. First-time claims for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly drop , Adjustment is seasonally adjusted 21, end of the week in October , the Labor Department said. The data of the previous week is modified to display 2, Fewer applications were submitted than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted 71, applications from the last week. The government reported earlier this month that job vacancies fell by 1.1 million, the biggest drop since April 385, to.1 million, on the last day of August. But economists do not expect mass layoffs, saying companies are wary of laying off workers after hiring difficulties over the past year, as the pandemic has forced some people out of work, in part because of a long-term illness caused by the virus.

Claim report shows receipt after initial week of assistance The number of benefits, which is the representative of the recruitment, increases 000, to 1.21 reached a million in the week ending October 8. So – the so-called ongoing claims have not significantly strayed from that level for about six months and are still 92,-92, lower than pre-pandemic s level. “Even if the economy slows, employers seem reluctant to fire workers they struggle to hire and retain,” U.S. chief Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients. “We don’t want jobless claims to be significantly lower than current levels, but we also don’t want jobless claims to rise significantly until we enter a

recession.”