Quikrete Industry Dashboard

The latest version of the Quikrete Industry Dashboard shows two major housing metrics heading in different directions.

Total housing starts increased in August to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.575 million. Meanwhile, existing home sales for the same period declined (again) to 4.8 million, marking the seventh consecutive month of declines for the metric tracked by the National Association of Realtors.

Interest rates are at work on the sales numbers, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

The housing sector is the most sensitive to and experiences the most immediate impacts from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy changes,” Yun said. “The softness in home sales reflects this year’s escalating mortgage rates. Nonetheless, homeowners are doing well with near nonexistent distressed property sales and home prices still higher than a year ago.”

Meanwhile, only two of 10 ticker symbols tracked on the Stock Roundup are ahead for the year: BLDR and BECN.

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Coming next: The New York-based Conference Board will release the closely watched Consumer Confidence Index, among other consumer related metrics, Sept. 27.