News in end use

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada declined 23% in May to 202,494 units, compared to April’s 261,357 units.

Statistics Canada reported that investment in building construction increased by 0.4% to $20.3 billion (CAD) in April. Investment in single-family homes decreased 2.1% to $7.7 billion, marking its lowest level since November 2021.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending June 15th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69%, down from last week when it averaged 6.71%.

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that home sales posted over the Canadian MLS® Systems were up 5.1% nationally between April and May, building on the double-digit jump in April and smaller gains recorded in February and March.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 262,000 during the week ending on Saturday, June 10th. This is unchanged from the previous week’s revised level of 262,000. The 4-week moving average was 246,750—an increase of 9,250 from the previous week.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, declined 0.3% in May, after increasing 0.2% April and after declining 0.4% March. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand advanced 1.1% year-over-year.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending June 9th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—rose 7.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

Zillow® on Monday released its market report for May. According to the report, typical US home values increased by 1.4% from April to May, the strongest monthly price growth since June 2022. The typical home value is $346,856—up 0.9% year-over-year.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index report, which analyzes data from the ICE Mortgage Technology, mortgage credit availability decreased in May. The MCAI fell by 3.1% to a reading of 96.5.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4 in April and 0.1% in March. Over the past 12 months, the all-item index has increased 4.0% before seasonal adjustment.