On Tuesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released it State Job Openings and Labor Turnover report for January. In January, job openings rates declined in 13 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 3 states, and were little changed in 34 states.
News in end use
Shares of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declined to 0.60% in February
According to the new monthly Mortgage Bankers Association Loan Monitoring Survey, the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased 4 basis points from 0.64% of servicers’ portfolio volume in January to 0.60% as of February 28th.
FEA’s Paul Jannke Expects a Decline in Lumber Consumption in 2023, but Anticipates Prices to Largely Hold
According to reporting by Lancaster Farming, in a webinar presented by Farm Credit East, Paul Jannke, a Principal at FEA, said, “In 2023 we’re looking at a 7% decline lumber consumption in North America, which equates to about 4 billion board feet.”
National Association of Home Builders Releases 2023 “Priced-Out” Estimates
The National Association of Home Builders priced-out estimates for 2023 reveal that approximately 96.5 million US households are not able to afford a median-priced new home. An additional 140,436 households would be priced out of the new home market if prices were to go up by only $1,000.
Existing Home Prices Fell 1.2% in February—The First Annual Decline Since 2012
Redfin reported on Friday that the median US home price fell 1.2% in February, marking the first year-over-year decline since 2012. Home purchases continued to level off after a sharp pullback in 2022H2. New listings were at their lowest level on record aside from the start of the pandemic.
Canadian Industrial Product and Raw Materials Price Indexes Both Decline in February
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), declined 0.8% month-over-month in February, following a 0.3% increase in January. Year-over-year, the IPPI was up 1.4%.
US Leading Economic Index® Declined Again in January, The Conference Board Reports
The Conference Board released today its Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US in February. The LEI declined 0.3% in February to a reading of 110.0 (2016=100), after declining 0.3% in January. The LEI has dropped 3.6% over the six-month period from August 2022 to February 2023.
University of Michigan Reports Preliminary Results of Its Consumer Sentiment Index for March
The University of Michigan on Friday released the preliminary results of its Consumer Sentiment Index for March. The Index of Consumer Sentiment declined to a reading of 63.4, down from 67.0 in February. This is a month-over-month decrease of 5.4% but up 6.7% year-over-year.
US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completions All Rise in February
The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday that privately‐owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,450,000. This is 9.8% above the revised January estimate of 1,321,000. Single-family starts were at a rate of 830,000; this is 1.1% above the revised January figure of 821,000.
Fixed Mortgage Rates Retreat After 5 Consecutive Weeks of Gains
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending March 16th. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.60%, down from last week when it averaged 6.73%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 4.16%.