News in end use

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).

On Tuesday, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index was released for August. Home prices experienced a 13.0% annual gain in August, down from July’s 15.8% annual gain. This is the fifth consecutive monthly decline.

According to the Harvard University Joint Center of Housing Studies’ latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), which was released on Thursday, projected year-over-year growth in repair and remodeling activity will decline from 16.1% in 2022 to 6.5% by 2023Q3.

Redfin reports that home sales and listings of homes for sale both declined in September at a record pace. The number of homes sold dropped 25% year-over-year, while new listings declined 22%—the largest declines since May and April of 2020.

Statistics Canada on Wednesday reported that in September the prices of products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), increased month-over-month by 0.1%. Year-over-year the IPPI was 9% higher.