Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending February 4th, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.73% with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week.
News in end use
Challenger Job-Cut Report – Planned Job Cuts Rose 3.3% in January 2021
According to the latest released Job- Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, U.S. based companies announced planned job cuts rose 3.3%, to 79,552, in January 2021 from 77,030 in December 2020.
Weekly Jobless Claims Modestly Decline in the Week Ending January 30th, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 779,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, January 30th.
U.S. Census Bureau Releases Housing Vacancy Survey for Q4 2020
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) for Q4 2020. According to the report U.S. homeownership rate declined to 65.8% in Q4. Year-over-year the national homeownership vacancy rated decreased, while the rental vacancy rate was flat.
Buyer’s Perception of Home Affordability Improved in Q4 of 2020
The Housing Trend Report for Q4 2020, a research product created by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Economics team, is reporting a rise in the number of home buyers who are reporting housing affordability is improving.
Mortgage Applications Increase 8.1% in Week Ending January 29th, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending January 29th, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Increased by 174,000 Jobs in January
According to the August ADP National Employment Report® nonfarm private sector employment increased by 174,000 jobs from December to January. The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.
Canadian Gross Domestic Product Grew 0.7% in November
According to Statistics Canada (StatCan), Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7% in November, following a 0.4% increase in October. Marking the seventh successive month of gains and helping to offset the steepest drops on record in March and April.
November’s Monthly Furniture Insight Survey Reports Increased Demand for Residential Furniture as the Economy Continues to Recover from Pandemic
Smith Leonard’s latest Monthly Furniture Insight survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors reported November was another month of continuing improvement. New orders were up 17% year-over-year in November.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Remained Unchanged in Week Ending January 24th, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 5.38% of servicers’ portfolio volume as of January 24, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.7 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.