Yahoo Finance

Julie, the housing market kicked off 2025 with some momentum, as buyers and sellers come to terms with elevated mortgage rates, helping to free up some of the inventory out there. This week, we got a slew of housing data that gave us more color on the current landscape. So let's start with the new home market. We got government data released Tuesday that shows housing starts bounced back in February, jumping more than 11%. And this blew past economist expectations. And the surge really was led by single family housing construction, which rose more than 11%. This was the fastest pace in a year. Now, remember, builders have been sweetening up the deal with mortgage rate buydowns and price cuts, driving some activity. However, home builders are feeling less confident about the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders reported that builder sentiment fell to the lowest level since August, revealing concerns about the future demand. And this comes as mortgage rates have ticked up for the second consecutive week. Data from Freddie Mac shows that the 30-year fixed interest rate increased by two basis points to 6.67%. The good news here is that mortgage rates are still lower than they were March of last year. And existing home sales also saw a positive surprise in February. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales increased 4.2% in February. This beat economist expectations. So, looking ahead, with the Federal Reserve's decision to leave its benchmark interest rates unchanged, economists expect mortgage rates will likely remain in their current levels as this spring buying and selling season gets underway, Julie.

Danny, I'll take it. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.