Tomorrow, Friday december 23, we get news on new home sales in November. Coming after some market weakness this week and before the long Christmas holiday (financial markets are closed on Monday, December 26), this report has the power to set the tone for a few days.
Especially because U.S. mortgage rates are up since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on December 14. Traders and investors are looking for clues on if that interest rate hike is likely to slow the U.S. economy. The rate for a 30-year mortgage hit 4.3% this week, according to Freddie Mac. That’s the highest level since April 2014. The average 15-year mortgage rate rose to 3.52%, the highest since January 2014.
New home sales in October came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 563,000, down 1.9% from September but up 17.8% from October 2015.
