The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released today (3-25-21) their “third” estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) for Q4 of 2020. According to the BEA, the GDP increased at an annual rate of 4.3% in Q4. In Q3 of 2020 the real GDP increased 33.4%.
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Survey Finds That Homebuyers are Increasingly Being Drawn to Suburb, Exurb and Rural Areas
The recently released “What Homebuyers Really Want 2021” from the National Association of Home Builders reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the housing preferences of nearly one-quarter of all home buyers. Prior to COVID-19, 26% of buyers wanted to buy a home in an outlying suburb; since the beginning of the pandemic, that share is now 30%.
After Eight Straight Months of Declines Mortgage Delinquency Rate Increases in February
Black Knight, a provider of integrated technology, data, and analytics for lenders and services reported on Tuesday (3-23-21), that after eight consecutive months of improvement, the national mortgage delinquency rate rose in February to 6% from 5.85%.
Apartment Absorption Rate and Rent Costs Declines As Completion Increase
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA) the absorption rate of unfinished, unsubsidized apartments (the market share rented out in the first 3-months following completion) fell by -5 percentage points to a reading of 51% in Q3 of 2020, down from 56% in Q3 2019.
Mortgage Applications Decrease -2.5% in the Week Ending March 19, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending March 19, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -2.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -2% compared with the previous week.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline Further in Week Ending March 14, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 9 basis points from 5.14% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.05% as of March 14, 2021.
New Home Sales Decline -18.2 % February but are up Year-Over-Year 8.2%
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new residential single-family home sales for February 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 775,000, according to estimates. This is -18.2% below the revised January 2021 rate of 948,000 but is 8.2% above the February 2020 estimate of 716,000.
Existing Homes Sales Drop 6.6% in February but Year-Over-Year are up 9.1%
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that total existing home sales — which are completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — in February were -6.6% below January to a seasonally adjusted rate at 6.22 million homes.
Year-Over-Year Home Prices Post 17% Increase While Active Listings Decline by 42%
Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage company, is reporting that for the 4-week period ending on March 14, 2021, the median home sales price increased 17% year-over-year to $330,250 — an all-time record in this data set, which dates back through 2016.
Canadian Employment Loses 108,000 Jobs Between January and February 2021
According to the ADP® February 2021 Canada National Employment Report, which is produced by the ADP Research Institute®, employment in Canada decreased by 108,000 jobs from January to February. The report, which is derived from actual ADP payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm payroll employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.