On Monday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 11 basis points to 1.189% (its lowest level in five months) at around 4:00 p.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slid 11 basis points to 1.82%.
News in end use
Mortgage Credit Availability Tightens in June
According to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), which analyzes data from the Ellie Mae’s AllRegs® Market Clarity® business information tool, mortgage credit availability decreased in June. The MCAI fell by -8.5% to 118.8 in June.
Canadian Home Prices in June Continued to Fall from March’s Record-Setting Level
Data released on Thursday (7-15-21) by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that home sales have fallen for three consecutive months, after setting an all-time record high in March 2021. The price of the average Canadian home that sold in June was $679,000, an increase of 25% in the past year.
University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index Drops to 5-month Low in July’s Preliminary Report
The University of Michigan today (Friday 7-16-21) released its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for July. Concerns about rising prices has led to a sharp drop in buying conditions for ‘big-ticket’ items and resulted in the decline. The CSI fell to a five-month low to a reading of 80.8 from 85.5 in June. Consumers expect inflation to rise 4.8% over the next year, the highest since August 2008.
Canadian Homes Sales Decline for Third Consecutive Month in June
Data released today (7-15-21) by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that Canadian national home sale decreased -8.4% between May and June 2021. This marks the third straight monthly decline since activity hit an all-time record in March 2021. While sales are now down a cumulative -25% from their peak, and below every other month in the last year, June transactions still managed to set a record for that month.
Remodeler Confidence Continued to Grow in Q2 2021
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today (7-15-21) released their Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for Q2 2021. The RMI posted a reading of 87, up 14 points from Q2 of 2020 and a sign of remodelers increasing confidence in their markets, for all size projects.
Mortgage Rates Drop for Third Consecutive Week in the Week Ending July 15, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 15, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.90%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.98%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Continued to Decline in the Week Ending July 10, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 360,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 10, 2021 — a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020.
Associated Builders and Contractors Reports Construction Backlog Indicator Increased to 8.5 Months in June
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported on Tuesday (7-13-21) that according to its latest ABC member survey conducted between June 20 and July 6, 2021, its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) rose to 8.5 months for June. The latest report is 0.5 months higher than the May 2021 report and 0.4 months higher than in June 2020.
Bidding Wars Slow as More Available Homes Hit the Market
According to a recently released report from Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage, the number of offers written by their agents that faced competition declined from 72.1% in May to 65% in June — well below the pandemic peak of 74.1% in April of this year. Nonetheless, that is higher than the 56.6% bidding war rate Redfin saw in June 2020.