News in end use

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (8-4-21) that the total value of building permits rose 6.9% to $10.3 billion in June. Seven provinces contributed to the gain, led by Ontario, which jumped 22.7%.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 30, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -2% compared with the previous week.

According to the July ADP® National Employment Report™, nonfarm private sector employment private sector employment increased by 330,000 jobs from June to July. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Smith Leonard’s latest Monthly Furniture Insight survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors reported that May 2021 sales were 47% higher year-over-year. Overall, 91% of survey participants reported increased orders, with most reporting triple-digits increases. Year to date, new orders were up 67% over the first five months of 2020.

According to the latest statistics coming from the 2019 American Community Survey, more young people are entering the construction trades. The share of workers under the age of 25 reached 10.8% in the construction industry, compared to only 9.7% in 2015. As a result, the median age of the construction workforce is 41, a year younger than in 2018.

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 1 basis point from 3.48% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.47% as of July 25, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.74 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

Further analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Construction Spending data for June, provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), show that total private residential construction spending rose 1.1% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $763.4 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 29.3% higher than a year ago.

The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during June 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,552.2 billion, 0.1% above the revised May estimate of $1,551.2 billion. The June figure is 8.2% above the June 2020 estimate of $1,435.0 billion.

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage, in its most recent report covering the four-week period ending July 25, 2021, is pointing to a cooling in the housing market. As evidence, Redfin points to pending homes sales posting their smallest year-over-year increase, just 7%, a level last seen in June 2020.

On Thursday (7-30-21), and one day prior to their scheduled expiration, The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Housing Administration announced that they would both be extending their eviction bans on borrowers of foreclosed properties until September 30, 2021. Other federal agencies are expected to follow suit.