News in end use

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the total monthly value of building permits in Canada declined 4.0% in January to $9.8 billion (CAD). On a constant dollar (2012=100) the total value of building permits dropped 3.2% to $5.8 billion.

Redfin reported on Friday that approximately one in five (21%) US homes for sale in 2022 were affordable for the typical household. That is down from two in five (40%) in 2021, and it is the lowest share on record. “Housing affordability is at the lowest level in history.”

Analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that during 2022Q4, residential construction loan volume reached a post-Great Recession high, as home building activity and new home sales remained below trend.

A closer look at the US Census Bureau’s Construction Spending report released on Wednesday, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that spending on private residential construction declined 0.6% in January. Single-family home construction declined 1.7%.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending March 2nd. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.65%, up from last week when it averaged 6.50%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.76%.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 190,000 during the week ending on Saturday, February 25th. This is a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 192,000. The 4-week moving average was 193,000.

On Wednesday, the US Census Bureau reported that total construction spending during January was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,825.7 billion, 0.1% below the revised December estimate of $1,827.5 billion. The January figure is 5.7% above the January 2022 estimate of $1,726.6 billion.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending February 24th, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported today its House Price Index for December, as well as all of 2022Q4. Seasonally adjusted home prices in December were down 0.1% from November.

On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices released its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index for December. Home prices experienced a 5.8% annual gain in December, down from a 7.6% annual gain in November.