News in end use

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Wednesday (11-17-21) that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.7% on a year-over-year basis in October, up from a 4.4% increase in September. October’s increase was the largest increase since February 2003. Excluding energy, the CPI rose 3.3% year-over-year, matching September’s increase.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending November 12, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased -2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -4% compared with the previous week.

A recently released report from OJO Labs, a Texas-based real estate technology and guidance company, reveals that 40.9% of homes in October sold for more than the list price — a portion that has been steadily declining for the past four months. The percentage of homes selling above list price sat at 42.8% in September, so the decrease, while minor, showed a steady four-month trend of month-over-month decreases.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) today (11-16-21) released it flash estimates for the October Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI). The IPPI was up 1.3% month-over-month and 16.7% year-over-year. The lumber and other wood products group (+5.4%) was the second largest contributor to the month-over-month gain in the IPPI in October, after posting four consecutive monthly declines.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the trend in housing starts in Canada was at 264,264 units in October, down from 270.661 units in September. The “trend” measure is a 6-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts. In October, the standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 236,554 units — a decline of -5.3% from 249,922 units in September.

According to the Mortgage Banker Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) for October 2021, year-over-year mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased -15.2%. Compared to September 2021, applications increased by 6%. Based on the data from the BAS, the MBA estimates that new single-family homes sales were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 897,000 units in October 2021.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes edged 3 points higher in November to a reading of 83. This marks the third consecutive month of upward movement in the HMI.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported today (11-15-21) that Canadian homes sales have already set a new annual record in 2021. According to CREA, home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems were up 8.6% between September and October 2021, marking the largest month-over-month increase since July 2020.

A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for September — with an emphasis on constructions and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) — reveals that the job openings rate in construction edged down to 4.3% in September, with 333,000 open positions in the sector.

According to the Q3 2021 Metropolitan Median Area Price and Affordability report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), strong homebuyer demand and limited housing supply has led to median sales prices rising for existing single-family homes in all but one of 183 measured markets in Q3 of 2021. The NAR found that 78% of 183 markets experienced double-digit year-over-year price increases, fewer than in Q2 of 2021 (94%).