Mortgage rates are based on bonds and bonds, and bonds have some seasonality to them.  This doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a reliable seasonal pattern for the direction of rate movement.  Rather, it means that several weeks in August tend to be fairly forgettable in terms of excitement, volatility, and methodical movement.  The 2 most recent […]

Housing starts in the US climbed in July to five-month high, led by the strongest pace of multifamily construction in more than two years. New residential construction increased 5.2% last month to an annualized rate of 1.43 million homes, according to government figures released Tuesday. That was above all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of

Home Depot Inc. sales returned to growth in the second quarter as shoppers invested in smaller projects, such as lighting and gardening. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer said comparable sales grew 1% in the quarter, modestly below what analysts had estimated but an improvement from a 3.3% slump a year ago. “These may be shallow