News in end use

The University of Michigan on Friday released the final results of its Consumer Sentiment Index for February. The Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to a reading of 67.0 in February, up from 64.9 in January. This is a month-over-month increase of 3.2%.

The National Association of Home Builders today released its Multifamily Market Survey for 2022Q4. The two main confidence indexes for multifamily housing increased slightly, but both remain in negative territory. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased 2 points from Q3 to a reading of 34.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending February 23rd. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.50%, up from last week when it averaged 6.32%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.89%.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released today its “second” estimate for 2022Q4 real gross domestic product (GDP). According to the report, GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.7%. This follows a reported real GDP increase of 3.2% in 2022Q3.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 192,000 during the week ending on Saturday, February 18th. This is a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 195,000.

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) group reported on Tuesday that it continues to expect the economy to fall into a modest recession. The Group now believes the likely start date will be in 2023Q2. The ESR Group reports that housing started 2023 on a relative high note but also sees this as temporary.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the ending February 17th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 13.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index declined 4.0%.

Data from the US Census Bureau, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that the median single-family square floor area declined significantly to 2,203 square feet—the lowest level since 2011.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is reporting that data from its January 2023 Builder Application Survey (BAS) reveals mortgage applications for new home purchases dropped 3.5% year-over-year. This change does not include any adjustments for typical seasonal patterns.

The National Association of Realtors® reported on Tuesday that total existing home sales recorded a 0.7% decline in January from December to a seasonally adjusted rate at 4.00 million homes. Year-over-year, sales are down 36.9%.