News in end use

Statistics Canada reported today that investment in building construction rose by 2.7% to $20.9 billion (CAD) in April. Increases were reported in both residential, up 3.2%, and non-residential, up 1.4%. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in build construction grew 3.5% to $13.0 billion.

According to new analysis from Redfin, the Seattle-based, technology-powered real estate brokerage firm, homebuyer budgets are essentially flat from last year, up only 0.3% year-over-year in for the 3-month period ending April 30, 2022. That is slowest rate of growth since June of 2020.

In the latest report from the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Home Builders Institute (HBI), the number of construction workers needed to keep up with the current building sector demand is approximately 740,000 per year. The HBI estimates the industry will need more than 61,000 net hires a month to fill vacant positions.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 1.0% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis. This follows increases of 0.3% in April, 1.2% in March, and 0.8% in February. Over the past 12 months, the all-item index has increased 8.6% before seasonal adjustment.

Statistics Canada reported today that employment rose by 40,000 (+0.2%) in May, after pausing in April. Since May 2021, when the labor market was impacted by the third wave of the pandemic, total employment has increased by 1.1 million (+5.7%). And as of May 2022, employment was 497,000 (+2.6%) above its pre-pandemic level.

On Friday, the University of Michigan released its Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index for June. The Index of Consumer Sentiment dropped to a reading of 50.2 in June, down from May’s reading of 58.4, This is a month-over-month decrease of -14.0% and down -41.3% year-over-year (85.5 in June 2021).

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) report, which analyzes data from the ICE Mortgage Technology, Mortgage credit availability declined in May 2022. The MCAI declined -0.9% to a reading of 120.0.

Redfin, the Seattle-based, technology-powered real estate brokerage firm, is reporting that in May, for the first time ever, the median monthly asking rent in the U.S. surpassed $2,000. This is a year-over-year increase of 15%.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending June 9, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.23% with an average 0.9 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.09%.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 229,000 Americans (seasonally adjusted) made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, June 4, 2022. This is increase of 27,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level.