The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance fell by 2 basis points from 3.50% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.48% as of July 18, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.74 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
News in end use
New Home Sales Tumble for Third Month in a Row in June 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new residential single-family home sales for June 2021 were at a SAAR of 676,000, according to estimates. This is -6.6% below the revised May rate of 724,000 and is -19.4% below the June 2020 estimate of 839,000.
Nation’s Housing Report for 2021 — from The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) has just released their 40-page State of the Nation’s Housing report for 2021. The report examines a year’s worth of data, trends and issues that are impacting the housing industry. This includes housing policy, market trends, household growth and composition, homeownership, affordability issues, rental markets, and more.
Home Buyers Are Again Considering Condo Living
In its latest report, Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate broker, is reporting that the typical condo in the U.S. sold above its asking price in June, just the second time since at least 2012. The first time was in the month of May, and is signaling renewed homebuyer competition for condos after a pandemic-fuel slump. Nationwide, the typical condo sold for 0.7% above its asking price in June, following a premium of 0.4% in May.
Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. Increased 0.7% in June
The Conference Board, which was founded in 1916 as a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank, released Thursday (7-22-21) their June 2021 Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. According to the release, the LEI (which is based on ten separate components) increased 0.7% in June to 115.1 (2016 = 100), following a 1.2% increase in May and a 1.3% increase in April.
Existing Homes Sales Increase 1.4% in June
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported that total existing home sales — completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — increased 1.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted rate at 5.86 million homes in June. Year-over-year sales are up 22.9% (4.77 million June 2020).
Americans Continue to Want to be Homeowners
According to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Trend Report (HTR) for Q2 of 2021, 17% of American adults polled indicated that they are considering the purchase of a home within a year. The share (now seasonally adjusted) has increased for five quarters in a row.
Mortgage Rates Drop for Fourth Consecutive Week in the Week Ending July 22, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 22, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.78% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.88%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.01%.
Statistics Canada Announces New Weights for Goods and Services in the Consumer Price Index
On Wednesday (7-21-21), Statistics Canada (StatsCan) revealed new weights for the basket of goods and services in the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI), with shifts including a higher weighting for the shelter component as housing prices soar. The previous basket update was based on 2017 purchasing patterns.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending July 17, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 419,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 17, 2021 — an increase of 51,000 from the previous week’s revised level.