News in end use

Redfin reported today (3-21-22) that the average monthly asking rent in the U.S. increased year-over-year by 15% to a record high of $1,901 in February 2022. According to the report, this is the largest annual jump since at least February 2020. The national median monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers climbed 31% year over year to $1,716.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced today (3-21-22) the results of their latest Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency report. According to the report, commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies declined in Q4 2021. MBA’s quarterly analysis looks at commercial/multifamily delinquency rates for five of the largest investor-groups.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported on Friday (3-25-22) that total existing home sales dropped -7.2% month-over-month in February to a seasonally adjusted rate at 6.02 million homes. Year-over-year, sales are down -2.4% (6.17 million February 2020).

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (3-18-22) that new home prices in Canada increased 1.1% month-over-month in February. Year-over-year (February 2021 – February 2022), they increased 10.9%. Prices increased in 18 of the 27-census metropolitan areas and were unchanged in 9.

Redfin, in a new report released on Thursday (3-17-22), said that the U.S. median home sale price surged 7% during the four-week period ending Sunday, March 13, 2022. That is the largest month-over-month increase on record in Redfin’s data, which goes back through 2017.

The Conference Board released today (3-18-22) the Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. in February 2022. According to the report, the LEI for the U.S. increase by 0.3% in February to 119.6 (2016=100), following a -0.5% decrease in January and a 0.8% increase in December.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) for February 2022, mortgage applications for new home purchases declined -3.9% year-over-year. When compared to January 2022, applications decreased by -1.0%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Thursday (3-17-22) that privately‐owned housing starts in February 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,769,000. This is 6.8% above the revised January estimate of 1,657,000 and is 22.3% above the February 2021 rate of 1,447,000.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending March 17, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.16% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.85%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.09%.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 214,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, March 12, 2022. This is a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level.