The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.8 million in July.
News in covid 19
FEA’s Weekly Order Survey Respondents are Reporting Their Sales Continue to Accelerate
Dealers responding to this week’s Weekly Order Survey remain positive about their current business’ status and are reporting that their sales continue to accelerate.
Freres Lumber Company Struggling to Find New Employees
Freres Lumber Co., Inc, headquartered in Lyons Oregon, has a unique and frustrating problem.
Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decrease for Seventh Week in a Row
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Volume Survey for July 26th, reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 7.74% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 7.67% as of July 26th, 2020.
Construction Output in Second Quarter of 2020 Significantly Slows Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
According to The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Chief Economist Anirban Baus, the “ABC’s Construction Confidence Index indicated that a majority of contractors suffered some form of interruption to their activities during the second quarter of 2020, whether due to a lack of available inputs as global supply chains buckled, project postponements or cancellations, jobsite workforce issues or state and local government mandates.”
Housing Remains Bright Spot in U.S. Economy
As the overall U.S. economy struggles to get back on track, the housing industry is in position to lead the economic recovery.
Personal and Disposable Income Decrease in June
The U.S. Commerce Department \ Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is reporting that personal income in June decreased by $222.8 billion or -1.1%.
FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey – Dealers Remain Optimistic About Near-Term Business Activity
Additional positive news coming from the housing industry this week, combined with continuing near record low mortgage rates, and an increase in the number of buyers who are actively pursuing the purchase of a new or existing home, provided dealers responding to our Weekly Orders Survey more reasons to remain optimistic about their near-term business activity.
The Number of Buyers Actively Searching for Their ‘Dream Home’ Increase in Second Quarter of 2020
A deeper look into the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Trend Report (HTR) reveals that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, near record low mortgage rates have approximately 11% of adult Americans not only considering a future home purchase within the next year, but a majority of them are seriously and actively searching.
Gross Domestic Product Declines -32.9% on Annualized Basis in Second Quarter of 2020
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is reporting that Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the widest measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., fell -9.5% in the second quarter of 2020.