News in end use

An additional 210,000 Americans (seasonally adjusted) made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, May 21, 2022. This is a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. The 4-week moving average was 206,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the week ending May 20, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) declined -1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index declined -2.0% compared with the previous week.

New data from Realtor.com’s Monthly Rental Report reveals that the U.S. median rental prices hit a new record high of $1,827. April data from Realtor.com showed national rents maintained their record-breaking run that began in January 2021.

New residential single-family home sales for April 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 591,000, according to estimates. This is -16.6% below the revised March rate of 709,000 and is -26.9% below the April 2021 estimate of 809,000. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly decline of new single-family homes.

In Q1 of 2022, residential construction loan volume reached a post-Great Recession high, as home building activity entered a new year with higher interest rates. With the single-family building markets slowing in 2022, it is expected that the volume of such loads will likely peak in the upcoming quarters.

According to the latest results of the National Association of Home Builders’ Multifamily Market Survey (MMS), confidence in the market for new multifamily housing moved lower in Q1 of 2022. The MMS produces two main indices, the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) and the Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI), both of which were lower.

According to Redfin, the housing market inventory crunch in April showed signs of easing. The -9% year-over-year decline in homes for sale was the smallest since March of 2020 and the first single-digit drop since the start of the pandemic. Home sales slid -8%, the biggest drop since June 2020. The median home-sale price rose 16% to $424,000.

A deeper dive into the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment summary for April, with a state-by-state view and a focus on construction, reveals that nonfarm payroll employment increased month-over-month in 41 states and the District of Columbia in April, while 8 states lost jobs and North Dakota reported no change.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completion by Purpose and Design survey, custom home building posted a year-over-year gain for Q1 of 2022. The survey reports that there were 46,000 total custom building starts in Q1 of 2022. This is a year-over-year increase of 28% (Q1 of 2021).

Redfin’s Home Buyer Demand Index (HBDI) posted its largest annual decline since April 2020. Still, desirable homes are getting scooped up at a record pace, a median 15 days on market. The HBDI noted that homebuyers continue to pull back in the wake of record-high purchasing costs. Mortgage purchase applications fell to their lowest level since May 2020.