News in end use

A recent LendingTree survey found that two-thirds of young adults who moved in with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic are still living there. Fifty one percent said they moved home to out of necessity, while 49% said they moved home to save money.

The Conference Board released today its Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US in August 2022. According to the report, the LEI declined 0.3% in August to a reading of 116.2 (2016=100), following declines of 0.5% in July and 0.7% in June.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 22, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.29% with an average 0.9 point, up from last week when it averaged 6.02%.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that seasonally adjusted an additional 213,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, September 17, 2022. This is an increase of 5,000 from the previous week.

According to the September 2022 commentary released today (9-21-22) from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group, economic growth is projected to resume in the second half of 2022. However, the combination of high inflation, monetary policy tightening, and a slowing housing market is likely to tip the economy into a modest recession in the new year.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending September 16, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 3.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

Redfin reported that US asking rents soared to a record high in August but noted that rent growth had moderated for the third consecutive month. According to Redfin, the US national median asking rent was up 11% year-over-year in August to $2,039.

The National Association of Realtors® reported on Wednesday that total existing home sales—completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—recorded a 0.4% decline in August from July. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.80 million homes.

The US Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that privately‐owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,575,000. This is 12.2% above the revised July estimate of 1,404,000 but 0.1% below the August 2021 rate of 1,576,000.

Statistics Canada reported today that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 7.0% on a year-over-year basis in August, down from July’s 7.6% gain. This was the second consecutive slowdown in the year-over-year price growth.