Mortgage rates fell for the sixth-straight week
Yesterday, mortgage rates fell for a sixth-straight week and hit their lowest level since February 2023, with the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dropping to 6.29%. This represents almost an entire percentage point drop from the same week one year ago, while applications for mortgages to purchase a home rose 2% for the week.
In response, homebuilding stocks like sector heavyweights D. R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), PulteGroup Inc (NYSE:PHM), and Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN), all of which hit all-time highs on Aug. 26, are all higher today.
At last check, DHI is up 0.9% at $187.06, and earlier came within a hair's breadth of the $189 level. While sitting just below its Aug. 26 record high of $193.63, D.R. Horton stock is up 32.7% this quarter, and boasts a 64.3% year-over-year gain.
PulteGroup stock, on the other hand, came closer to its Aug. 26 all-time high of $136.47. Shares were last seen 1.6% higher at $133.60, but earlier rose to $135.25. Over the last 12 months, PHM has added 73.5%, and it's up 29.4% since the start of the year thanks in no small part to a 21.4% quarter-to-date lead.
Lastly, LEN is up 0.8% at $179.59 at last glance. The security jumped to $181.12 before pulling back slightly, and is still well below its Aug. 26 peak of $186.60, and is the only one of the bunch that's lower in September, sporting a slight 1.4% month-to-date deficit. Still, Lennar stock sports 54.9% and 20.5% year-over-year and year-to-date gains, respectively.