US home builder sentiment pummels as 30-year fixed mortgage jumps to 3.45 per cent



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US home builder sentiment pummels as 30-year fixed mortgage jumps to 3.45 per cent

On Tuesday, a survey report from US NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) had unfurled that US single-family homebuilders’ confidence had drooled sharply in January, snapping a four-month-long gaining streak, as builders called on a new lumber accord with Canada aimed at offsetting a lingering supply chain shortage.

Apart from that, other economic data unveiled earlier in the day had shown that factory activities in the US state of New York had faltered in January amid a sharp uptick in Omicron cases, though manufacturers had reportedly remained cautiously optimistic regarding US business confidence over next six months.

If truth is to be told, Tuesday’s economy data had corroborated an analysts’ view that the US economy had opened up the year in a much softer note, largely due to a blistering inflation-surge, while a supply chain constraint alongside a flare-up in Omicron cases had fanned out the flames further.

Meanwhile, addressing to an industry-wide supply chain drag, a lead US economist at Oxford Economics in New York, Oren Klachkin said followed by the data, “This is a reminder that COVID still holds sway over the recovery.

U.S. supply chain dynamics didn't improve at the end of 2021, and early data suggest they've only worsened in 2022”.

US homebuilders’ confidence tumble in January; mortgage rates jump

According to survey report from the National Association of Home Builders, the NAHB or Wells Fargo Housing market Index dropped by one point to 83 in January.

A reading above 50 illustrates a better building condition. In the matter of the fact, latest fall in US single-family homebuilders’ confidence also had been largely prompted by a growing bet on earlier-than-anticipated rate hike from the US Federal Reserve with mortgage rates soaring sharply, suggested analysts.

According to US mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, US 30-year fixed mortgage rates were hovering around 3.45 per cent over the week that ended on January 13, up from a 3.22 per cent logged a week earlier.