News in end use

Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems posted a 0.7% month-over-month decline in July, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes declined 6 points in August to a reading of 50.

Commercial and multifamily originations were 53% lower in 2023Q2 compared to 2022Q2, according to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

StatCan reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 3.3% year-over-year in July. The increase in the CPI was mainly attributed to a base-year effect in gasoline prices.

The prices of goods used in residential construction, excluding energy, increased 0.2% in July, not seasonally adjusted, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics June Producer Price Index and the NAHB.

The construction industry added a net 19,000 jobs in July, according to analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors of US Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll data.

Redfin reported that the total worth of US homes hit a new record high of $46.8 trillion in June. This overtakes the prior all-time high of $46.6 trillion set a year earlier.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, increased 0.3% in July, after remaining unchanged in June and declining 0.3% in May.

The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment declined to a reading of 71.2 in August, down from 71.6 in July. This is a month-over-month decline of 0.6% but up 22.3% year-over-year.

According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 40.5% of new and existing homes sold in Q2 were affordable to families earning the US median income of $96,300.