New government data on residential construction should provide insight into the state of the new-home market.
The Commerce Department is expected to report Tuesday that builders broke ground on new apartments and single-family homes last month at a faster annual pace than January’s 1.33 million-units. The starts figure represents the number of housing units that builders would break ground on if development kept the same pace for the next 12 months.
The Federal Reserve delivers its latest interest rate policy update Wednesday, following a two-day meeting of its policymakers. At its last meeting in January, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.4% — a 22-year high — but signaled that it could begin lowering its rates sometime this year. First, though, Fed officials want to be more confident that inflation has cooled enough. However, since that meeting, government reports have shown that inflation picked up from December to January, and hiring accelerated.