"The housing recovery is being driven by pent-up demand, very low interest rates and attractively priced homes"
- Douglas Yearley Jr. , Chief Executive Officer at Toll Brothers
U.S. housing starts rose less than expected in August, while applications for home mortgages declined, adding to concerns over the U.S. property market, the U.S. Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Construction of new U.S. homes rose 2.3% to 750,000, up from 733,000 in the prior month, below expectations for a 2.85% increase to 765,000. Building permits issued in July declined to 0.803 million units, from 0.812 in the previous month.
"The housing recovery is being driven by pent-up demand, very low interest rates and attractively priced homes," said Douglas Yearley Jr., Chief Executive Officer at Tool Brothers. "With an industry wide shortage of inventory in many markets, we are enjoying some pricing power."
"Our mortgage-backed securities purchases ought to drive down mortgage rates and put downward pressure on mortgage rates and create more demand for homes and more refinancing," said Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman.
The Standard & Poor's 500 appreciated 0.12 per cent to 1,461.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10 per cent to 13,577.96. The Nasdaq Composite grew by 0.15 per cent to 3,182.62.
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