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| US housing starts fell in May  Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.69 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending June 21, 2007, down from last week when it averaged 6.74 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.71 percent. "Mortgage rates eased this week due to market concerns that the housing market will be a longer drag on the economy", said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "May's housing starts fell for the first time in four months, while homebuilder optimism in June fell to a sixteen-year low."Thus far this year, the housing sector directly shaved 0.8 percentage points off real economic growth in the first quarter, compared to the 1.2 percentage points it lopped off growth in the second half of 2006." write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |