News in end use

US LBM announced on Monday that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell three of the company’s operating divisions to L&W Supply, an operating unit of ABC Supply. US LBM is a leading distributor of specialty building materials with over 400 locations throughout the US.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) new Loan Monitoring Survey (LMS), the total number of loans now in forbearance was unchanged from November’s reading of 0.70%, as of December 31, 2022. This marks the third consecutive month of the LMS being unchanged.

The Conference Board released today the Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US in December. The LEI declined 1.0% in December to a reading of 110.5 (2016=100), following a 1.1% decline in November. The LEI has dropped 4.2% over the six-month period from June to December.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics December Producer Price Index (PPI) report reveals that the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy and not seasonally adjusted declined 0.3% in December—the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

Redfin reported on Thursday that in the four weeks ending January 15th, the median US home-sale price increased 0.9% from a year earlier to $350,250. This is the biggest increase in a month.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Friday that data from its Builder Application Survey for December revealed mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased 5% month-over-month and 25.2% year-over-year.

The National Association of Realtors® reported on Friday that total existing home sales—completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—recorded a 1.5% monthly decline in December, reaching a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.02 million homes.

The US Census Bureau reported on Thursday that privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,382,000. This is 1.4% below the revised November estimate of 1,401,000. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 909,000.

According to the National Association of Home Builders/Westlake Royal Remodeling Index for 2022Q4, remodelers market sentiment declined 17 points year-over-year, from a reading of 83 in 2021Q4 to a reading of 66 in 2022Q4.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending January 19, 2023. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%, down from last week when it averaged 6.33%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.56%.