News in end use

The Pending Homes Sales Index increased 0.6% month-over-month to a reading of 70.6 in August, NAR reported. Year-over-year, pending homes sales were down 3.0%.

Combined housing starts in Canada’s 6 largest cities increased 4% to 68,639 new units, the second highest level since 1990, CMHC reported.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.08%, down from last week when it averaged 6.09%, Freddie Mac reported.

Asking rents for newly constructed apartments fell to $1,746 in Q2, down 6.2% from a year earlier and the lowest level in more than two years, Redfin reported.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week.

The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer increased 0.2% in July, following a decline of 0.1% in June.

New residential single-family home sales in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 716,000, down 4.7% from July.

48% of all US listings have lingered on the market for at least 60 days, the highest share for any August since 2019, Redfin reported.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 11.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, MBA reported.

US homebuyers need an annual income of $115,454 to afford the median priced home, down 1.4% year-over-year and the first annual decline since June 2020, Redfin reported.