News in end use

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 28. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.30% with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.54%.

The US Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 256,000 Americans (seasonally adjusted) made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on July 23. This is a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The National Association of Realtors® reported on Wednesday their Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI) declined 8.6% in June to a reading of 91.0. The PHSI has now declined in six out of the past seven months. Year-over-year contract signings have declined 20.0%.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 22, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased 1.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

On Tuesday, the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that new residential single-family home sales for June were at a SAAR of 590,000, according to estimates. This is 8.1% below the revised May rate of 642,000.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index released today, nationwide US home prices rose 1.4% month-over-month in May. Year-over-year (May 2021 versus May 2022) home prices have increased 18.3%.

On Tuesday, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released its US National Home Price NSA Index for May. The Index, which covers all nine US Census divisions, reported that home prices experienced a 19.7% annual gain in May—down from 20.6% annual gain in April.

The Conference Board released today their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for July 2022. The CCI eroded further in July, marking the third consecutive monthly decline. The Index now stands at 95.7 (1985=100), down 2.7 points from a reading of 98.4 in June.

A deeper dive into the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment summary for June reveals that nonfarm payroll employment increased month-over-month in 38 states in June compared to the previous month. Nationwide nonfarm payroll increased by 372,000 jobs in June, following a gain of 384,000 jobs in May.

According to the updated baseline forecast released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday, total commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending is expected to decline to $733 billion this year, down 18% from 2021 totals of $891 billion.