News in end use

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending December 9, 2021. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.10% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 9, 2021, down slightly from last week when it averaged 3.11%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.71%.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 184,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, December 4, 2021 — a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since September 6, 1969, when it was 182,000.

“We just saw the first full year of above-average construction since the mid-2000s housing crash. This isn’t a new boom cycle of new construction so much as it’s an attempt to get even from the last bust. There is still a long way to go to catch up from more than a decade of slow construction, and some markets have longer to go than others.”

In October, the number of unfilled construction jobs increased to 410,000. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) this is the highest level in the history of the data service, which dates back to late 2000. Hiring in the construction remained strong, rising to a 5.0% rate.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending December 3, 2021, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 2.0% percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 45% compared with the previous week.

On Wednesday (12-8-21), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) for October 2021. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last day in October, the number of job openings increased to 11.0 million (+431,000). The Job opening rate was little changed at 6.9%. The number of hires was little changed at 6.5 million.

Fannie Mae today (12-7-21) released their Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for November. The HPSI for November decreased -0.8 points to a reading of 74.7, as consumers expressed only contrasting views of homebuying and home-selling conditions but also their greatest economic pessimism in 10-years.

According to the Q3 edition of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), the shift of single-family construction to suburban areas, brought on by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, continues unabated. However, the HBGI notes that more urban core markets are in the process of making a comeback. This has occurred as more workers transition back to the workplace.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report (CMDR) that was released on Tuesday (12-7-21), the mortgage delinquency rate on these types of properties declined in 2021 Q3. The CMDR analyzes commercial/multifamily delinquency rates quarterly for five of the largest investor-groups.

First American Financial Corporation, the Santa Ana, California-based comprehensive title insurance protection and professional settlement services provider, has released it Real House Price Index (RHPI) for September 2021. According to the RHPI, real house prices increased 1.7% from August to September and 17.5% year-over-year.