News in end use

The University of Michigan today released the final results of its Consumer Sentiment Index for October. The Index of Consumer Sentiment increased to a reading of 59.9 in October, up from 58.6 in September. This is a month-over-month increase of 2.2%.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released today its “advance estimate” for real GDP in 2022Q3. According to the report, GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.6%. This follows a reported decrease in Q2’s GDP annual rate of 0.6% and a 1.6% decline Q1 GDP.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending October 27th. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.08% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 6.94%. This is the highest level since April 2002.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 217,000 during the week ending on Saturday, October 22nd. This is an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 214,000.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Thursday that homebuyer affordability decreased by 5.5% in September, after declining the three previous consecutive months. The national median payment applied for by applicants moved from $1,839 in August to $1,941 in September.

On Wednesday, the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that new residential single-family home sales for September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 603,000, according to estimates. This is 10.9% below the revised August rate.

According to the latest National Association of Home Builders Housing Trend Report the popularity of new homes continues to rebound. After bottoming at 19% in 2022Q1, the share of buyers looking for new home construction rose to 21% in 2022Q2 and climbed to 27% in 2022Q3.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending October 21, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI®) released today, US home prices declined 0.7% in August from July. However, Year-over-year, house prices rose 11.9%.

The Conference Board released today (10-25-22) its Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for October 2022. The CCI has declined after 2 consecutive months of growth. The Index now stands at 102.5 (1985=100).