News in end use

The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during July 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,568.8 billion, 0.3% above the revised June estimate of $1,563.4 billion. The July figure is 9.0% above the July 2020 estimate of $1,439.6 billion.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending August 27, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased -2.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -3% compared with the previous week.

According to the August ADP® National Employment Report™, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 374,000 jobs from July to August. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI®), U.S. house prices increased 1.6% month-over-month in June. House prices increased 17.4% from June 2020 to June 2021. Compared to Q1 of 2021, house prices were up 4.9%.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Tuesday (8-31-21) that a substantial decline in home resale activity and exports pushed the real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada down -0.3% in Q2 2021. This marks the end of three consecutive quarterly increases that followed the sharp decline of -11.3% caused by pandemic-related business shutdowns and travel restriction in Q2 of 2020.

According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. Census divisions, reported today (8-31-21) that home prices experienced a 18.6% annual gain in June 2021, up from 16.8% in May.

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 3.25% as of August 22, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same relative to the prior week at 1.66%.

The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released today (8-31-21) their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for August 2021. The CCI declined in August, following a decrease in July (a downward revision). The Index now stands at 113.8 (1985=100), down from 125.1 in July.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has reported their Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI) — which is based on signed real estate contracts, not actual closings, for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops — declined -1.8%, in July 2021 to a reading of 110.7. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage, is reporting that in the 4-week period ending Sunday, August 22, 2021, the national median home sales price increased 16% year-over-year to $361,225. During the same period of time, the share of home sellers dropping their price each week rose to 5.1%.