Market Update Week of February 6 2023

What's New this week:

Spending on residential construction in December was a tick below November’s read. But for all of 2022, residential builders spent just under $900 billion, a 13.3% increase over 2021!

Realtor.com reports the active inventory of for-sale homes is now 69% above a year ago, with homes spending 14 more days on the market compared to last year, giving buyers more time to evaluate more options.

Nationally, home price growth continues to stabilize. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index registered a 7.7% annual increase in November, down from 9.2% in October. This was the seventh straight month of annual price decelerations. 

Last Week in Review:

THE FED, THE JOBS... Stocks ended with the Dow a bit off, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up nicely. The week featured an expected quarter percent hike from the Fed and an unexpected 517,000 gain in January nonfarm payrolls!

But Fed Chair Powell acknowledged, "we have more work to do," implying there would be ongoing rate hikes until inflation came under control. We also had the ISM Manufacturing Index showing contraction in January.

However, the January ISM Non-Manufacturing Index booked a return to growth mode for the dominant services sector of the economy. Plus, productivity increased in Q4, and the week's initial and continuing jobless claims fell. 

The week ended with the Dow down 0.2%, to 33,926; the S&P 500 UP 1.6%, to 4,136; and the Nasdaq UP 3.3%, to 12,007.

With the good jobs report, bonds dipped a tick overall, the UMBS 5.5% slipping .04, to $101.12. The national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate continued down in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Remember, mortgage rates can be extremely volatile, so check with your mortgage professional for up-to-the-minute information.  

DID YOU KNOW… Freddie Mac noted the 30-year fixed-rate is down from November, allowing “as many as three million more mortgage-ready consumers to qualify and afford a $400,000 loan, which is the median home price.”

Thanks to Supreme Lending, Sean Donahue for the information.

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