News in end use

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Group (ESR) has revised several of its 2021 forecasts. A full month of sub 3% mortgage rates, ongoing housing market supply constraints, and a 300% increase in lumber pricing over the past 15-months prompted the forecast revision.

Statistic Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that new home prices at the national level increased 1.9% in April. Prices were up in 22 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed. Continuing increases in construction costs pushed home prices higher in April. In Q1 of 2021, single-family home costs increased by 6.8%, while townhouses rose 6.9%.

According to Redfin, the Seattle-based technology powered real estate brokerage, the national median home-sale price hit a record high in April of $370,528 — up 22% year-over-year. April 2021 set other new records as well.

The most recent U.S. Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that the market for custom home building continues to experience flat conditions amidst strong demand and rising material challenges. In Q1 of 2021, there were 36,000 total custom building starts.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending May 20, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.00% with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.94%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.24%.

A recent CoreLogic survey indicated that 70% of consumers are citing high home inflation and surging home prices as a reason to rent. However, increased demand for rental properties is causing a problem of its own. The rental markets are growing more and more crowded and increasing demand for rentals risks creating a new affordability problem.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 444,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday May 15, 2021 — a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for this average of initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.

The Conference Board, which was founded in 1916 as a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank, released today (5-20-21) their April 2021 Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. According to the release, the LEI which is based on ten separate components increased 1.6% in April, following a 1.3% increase in March and a -0.1% decline in February.

The most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that townhouse construction continued at a robust pace in Q1 of 2021. This follows the best quarter of townhouse construction in 2.5 years at the end of 2020.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending May 14, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.2% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1% compared with the previous week.