News in end use

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Wednesday that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (“the Enterprises”) will enhance their payment deferral policies to allow borrowers facing financial hardship to defer up to six months of mortgage payments.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 198,000 during the week ending on March 25th. This is an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 191,000.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday its “Third” estimate for 2022Q4 real GDP. According to the report, real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.6% in Q4. This follows a reported real GDP increase of 3.2% in Q3. In the “second” estimate, the increase was 2.7%.

On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors® reported its Pending Homes Sales Index improved 0.8% month-over-month in February to a reading of 83.2. However, contract signing declined 21.1% year-over-year. The Index has now increased for three consecutive months.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending March 24th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—increased 2.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll report for February reveals that across the 48 states which reported construction sector data, 24 states reported an increase in February compared to January, while 19 states lost construction sector employment.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported today (3-28-23) its House Price Index (HPI®) for January. According to the HPI, US house prices rose 0.2%, seasonally adjusted, between December and January. Year-over-year, house prices rose 5.3%.

On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices released its latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index. The Index reported that home prices experienced a 3.8% annual gain in January. This is down from a 5.6% annual gain in December.

The Conference Board released today its Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for March. The CCI rose to 104.2 (1985=100) in March, up from February’s reading of 103.4.

Associated Builders and Contractors is reporting that its Construction Backlog Indicator grew to 9.2 months in February. That reading is 1.2 months higher than in February 2022. The Southern region continues to post the highest backlogs of any region.