News in end use

The University of Michigan today (7-30-21) released its second and final reading of Consumer Sentiment for July. According to the survey, U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a five-month low in July amid lingering concerns about inflation. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index (MCSI) fell to a final reading of 81.2, the lowest level since February, from June’s final level of 85.5.

According to an analysis provided by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), taken from data recently released the Department of Labor, construction employment declined or stagnated in 101 metro areas between February 2020 — the month prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and June of 2021.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that their Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI) — which is based on signed real estate contracts, not actual closings, for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops — declined -1.9% to a reading of 112.8 in June. This after recording a notable 8.0% increase in May.

According to the “advance” estimated released today (7-29-21) by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.5% in Q2 of 2021. In Q1 of 2021, the GDP increased by 6.3% (revised).

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 400,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 24, 2021 — a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (7-28-21) that The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis in June, down from a 3.6% gain in May. As a result of price increases in June 2020, base-year effects had a downward impact on consumer inflation, contributing to the slowdown in June 2021.

On Tuesday (7-27-21), the First American Financial Corporation — a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services, and risk solutions for real estate transactions headquartered in Santa Ana, California — released the May 2021 First American Real House Price Index (RHPI).

On Tuesday (7-27-21) the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of Bureau’s Q2 2021 Housing Vacancy Survey. According to the survey, the national vacancy rates in Q2 of 2021 was 6.2% for rental housing and 0.9% for homeowner housing. The rental vacancy rate was 0.5% points higher than the rate in Q2 2020 (5.7%) and -0.6% points lower than the rate in Q1 2021 (6.8%).

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 23, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6% compared with the previous week.

According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. Census divisions, home prices experienced a 16.6% annual gain in May 2021, up from 14.8% in April and 13.3% in March.