The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 5.23% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.20% as of February 28, 2021.
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Higher Mortgage Rates Decrease Buyers Spending Power
Redfin, the Seattle-based, technology-powered real estate brokerage firm is reporting that a homebuyer would lose $23,250 in spending power with a mortgage rate of 3.25% versus a 2.75% rate, where they were sitting earlier this year.
Total Investment in Building Construction in Canada Hits New All-Time Record of $16.0 Billion
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting today (3-8-21), that total investment in building construction reached $16.0 billion for the first time on record, up 2.8% from December 2020, based on continued strength in the residential sector.
Forestry Products and Building and Packaging Materials Help Canada Posts $1.4 Billion Trade Surplus
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (3/5/21) that Canada posted a trade surplus of $1.4 billion in January 2021 — the first trade surplus since May 2019 and the largest since July 2014.
Construction Employment Drops in February 2021
Employment in the construction sector fell by 61,000 — a reflection of the declines in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (-37,000) and heavy and civil engineering construction (-21,000).
Federal Housing Finance Agency Extends Forbearance to Multifamily Property Owners Through June
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that multifamily property owners who are continuing to struggle to make their mortgage payments due to the coronavirus pandemic have a reprieve through the end of June for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Nonfarm Payroll Increases in February 2021
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 379,000 in February but is down by 9.5 million, or 6.2%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.
30-Year Mortgage Rate Increases to 3.02% in the Week Ending March 4, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending March 4, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.02% with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.97%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending 27th February 2021.
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 745,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, February 27, 2021 — an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Canadian Building Permits Rise 8.2% in January 2021
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that in January 2021, there was a record high total value of building permits issued, increasing 8.2% to $9.9 billion and exceeding the previous record of $9.6 billion set in April 2019.