News in end use

Housing starts across all areas in Canada rose 30% in April to 278,606 units (SAAR), up from 214,205 in March, CREA reported.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes declined six points to a reading of 34 in May.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, decreased 0.5% in April. Unadjusted, the index for final demand rose 2.4% year-over-year.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.81%, up from last week when it averaged 6.76%, Freddie Mac reported.

This marks a pause in the trend of declining activity since the beginning of the year, CREA reported. The National Composite MLS Home Price Index declined 1.2%.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 229,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised total.

The value of building permits issued in Canada decreased by 4.1% to CA$12.9 billion in March. Residential construction intentions rose 2.0% to $8.7 billion.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, MBA reported.

Over the 12 months ending in April, the all-items index rose 2.3%, down from a 2.4% increase over the prior 12-month period.

The delinquency rate in Q1 was up 6 basis points from 2024Q4 and was up 10 basis points year-over-year, MBA reported.