US single-family housing starts rebound in August; building permits fall

Mortgage rates have surged, tracking longer-term US Treasury yields as the US-Israeli war with Iran drove oil prices above $100 a barrel. Bond yields have also risen amid uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's response to inflation and a ballooning national debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is hovering around 5.0%.

The US central bank on Wednesday raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 and flagged further increases in borrowing costs in the months ahead. The Fed's overnight benchmark interest rate was raised by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.75%-4.00% range.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.76% last week, the highest level in more than a year, up from 6.71% in the prior week, data from mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac showed.

A National Association of Home Builders survey on Wednesday showed sentiment among single-family homebuilders slumped to a one-year low in September. The weakness was blamed on rising mortgage rates as well as worsening labor shortages because of an immigration crackdown and higher prices for materials amid import tariffs.