News in end use

The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index (CFI), which measures Canadian household sentiment on subjects such as job security, personal finances and their outlook for both the economy and real estate prices, jumped last week to the highest since October 2019.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported that total existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, increased 0.6% from December 2020 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million in January 2021.

The lower mortgage interest rates that home buyers have been enjoying at the end of 2020, have finally made their way to builders and developers, who are now experiencing lower interest rates and improved credit conditions.

A deeper look into the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completion by Purpose and Design, conducted by the National Association of Home Builders reveals that the number of single family-homes built for rent (SFBFR) construction starts posted a year-over-year increase in Q4 of 2020.

The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.81% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.73%.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 861,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday February 13, 2021 — an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

A closer look at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index (PPI) data for January, provided by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), reveals that residential construction input prices increased 2.5% in January over December 2020. Year-over-year residential input prices increased 4.8%.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, overall household debt increased by $206 billion in Q4 of 2020 to $14.56 trillion. The primary driver was a dramatic increase in mortgage originations.

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,580,000. This is -6.0% below the revised December estimate of 1,680,000 and is -2.3% below the January 2020 rate.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today (2-17-21) that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, increased 1.3% in January. January’s increase is the largest since the PPI began in December 2009.