News in end use

Nonresidential construction input prices decreased 0.2% in December, the BLS and ABC reported.

Privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,499,000, 15.8% above the revised November estimate.

Housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 13% in December (231,468 units, SAAR), CMHC reported.

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases declined 3%, unadjusted, in December, MBA reported.

Builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes rose in January, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index posted a reading of 68 in Q4, a 5-point gain from the previous quarter.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.04%, up from last week when it averaged 6.93%, Freddie Mac reported.

Advertised asking rents declined $4 to $1,742 in December, Yardi reported. Year-over-year, growth slowed to 0.6%, the 16th consecutive month with increases below 1%.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 217,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, following a 0.3% increase in November.