News in end use

The Remodeling Futures Program at The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University released on Thursday (10-21-21) their Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) Report. According to the LIRA, strong growth in home improvement and maintenance expenditures is expected to continue over the coming year.

A closer look at the September 2021 Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report by state reveals that across the 48 states which reported construction sector jobs data — which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction — 30 states reported an increase in September compared to August, while 16 states lost construction sector jobs.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Q1 of 2020, the share of adults planning a home purchase hit a low of 10%. However, over the next five consecutive quarters that number increased and peaked at 17% in Q2 of 2021. Home purchasing desire cooled in Q3 of 2021, with share falling to 16%.

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology powered real estate brokerage firm, released today (10-22-21) their new analysis of home sales data. Redfin is comparing today’s market with the pre-pandemic fall market of 2019 to highlight how hot the market remains, even as most measures are settling into typical seasonal patterns.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) had a special question included in their September 2021 survey. The question asked builders about the availability of developed lots in their areas. The response indicates that home builders are facing supply side challenges similar to other U.S. industries — the shortage of labor and materials.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported today (10-21-21) that total existing home sales — which are completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — increased 7.0% from August to a seasonally adjusted rate at 6.29 million homes in September. Year-over-year, however, sales are down -2.3% (6.44 million September 2020).

The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released today (10-21-21) the Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. in September. According to the report, the LEI for the U.S. increased by 0.2% in September to 117.5 (2016 = 100). This follows a 0.8% increase in August and a 0.9% increase in July.

On Monday (10-18-21) Freddie Mac issued a statement in support of an announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s low-income refinance program will be expanded to include those making at or below 100% of the areas median income (AMI) — up from 80% AMI.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending October 21, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.09% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.05% percent. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.80%.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 290,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday October 16, 2021. This is a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial job claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.