News in end use

According to the latest quarterly US Census data, the number of multifamily, for-rent housing starts soared during Q2 2022. At 142,000 units started, Q2 was the largest quarter of rental multifamily construction since Q2 1986, or 36-years ago.

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced on Monday the results of its Builder Application Survey (BAS) for July 2022. According to the BAS, mortgage applications in July for new home purchases declined 16.1% year-over-year. Month-over-month applications declined by 7%.

Redfin reported today that their home sales have dropped 19.3% year-over-year in July. They are now at their lowest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when the housing market was close to a standstill. This is the largest annual decline in US home sales in more than a year.

Fannie Mae (FM) on Monday updated their projection for real GDP in 2022. FM now projects that GDP will be flat at 0.0% growth on a Q4/Q4 basis. According to FM, the latest GDP reading showed an expected decline in Q2, but recent data point to a return to a modest growth in Q3.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased month-over-month in 46 states and the District of Columbia in July compared to the previous month. Four states reported job losses. Nationwide nonfarm payroll increased by 528,000 jobs in July, following a gain of 398,000 job in June.

Redfin is reporting that the national median asking rent price in July was up 14% year-over-year to $2,032 per month. Redfin says this is the smallest annual increase since November 2021 and compares with a revised gain of 15% in June and 16% in May of this year.

Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that, according to the Labor Force Survey, unemployment in Canada fell by 54,000 (5.1%) in June. The decline has resulted in a record low unemployment rate of 4.9%.

Redfin is reporting that roughly 63,000 home-purchase agreements fell through nationwide in July, equal to 16.1% of homes that went under contract that month. That is up 15% from one month earlier and 12.5% year-over-year.

The National Association of Realtors® reported on Thursday that total existing home sales (completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops) dropped 5.9% in July from June to a seasonally adjusted rate at 4.81 million homes.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending August 18, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.13% with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.22%.