News in end use

Privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,401,000; this is 2.2% above the revised March. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 846,000; this is 1.6% above the revised March figure of 833,000.

Statistics Canada reported that investment in Canadian building construction declined 1.3% to $20.3 billion (CAD) in March. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction fell 1.8% to $11.5 billion.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—declined 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 6.0%.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes increased 5 points in May to a reading of 50. This marks the fifth consecutive month of gains.

The total number of loans now in forbearance decreased 4 basis points from 0.55% of servicers’ portfolio volume in March to 0.51% as of April 30th. The MBA estimates that 255,000 homeowners remain in forbearance plans.

Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian Consumer Price Index increased 4.4% year-over-year in April, following a 4.3% rise in March. This marks the first acceleration in headline consumer inflation since June 2022.

The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts for all areas in Canada reached 261,559 units in April, an increase of 22% when compared to March’s 213,780 units.

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that homes sales recorded over the Canadian MLS® Systems posted an increase of 11.3% from March to April. This follows a smaller back-to-back monthly gain between February and March.

Redfin reported that the median US asking rent increased 0.3% year-over-year to $1,967 in April, marking the eleventh consecutive month of slowing growth. Month-over-month, the median rent fell 0.2%.

The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy declined 0.2% in April, not seasonally adjusted. Year-to-date, the index has gained 0.5%, which is the smallest April YTD increase since it increased 0.3% over the first four months of 2020.