The number of mortgages in active pandemic-related bailout plans rose by 21,000 in the past week after declining for six straight weeks.
News in end use
Monthly Furniture Insight Survey Reveals Increased Demand for Residential Furniture as Economy Continues to Recover
A recent survey by Smith Leonard shows improving demand for residential furniture.
Personal Income Declines 2.7% in August
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is reporting that personal income decreased in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $19,493 billion. That is a drop of -2.7% in August due mainly to the expiration of the expanded unemployment insurance benefit, which provides a weekly supplement pay of $600 through the end of July.
Total Nonfarm Employment Up and Unemployment Down in September
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined by -0.5% to 7.9%. Which represents 12.6 million Americans without employment.
FEA’s Weekly Order Survey Participants’ Views Vary Greatly from Region to Region
FEA’s Weekly Order Survey respondents’ views on their market’s activity not only varied from region to region but also appeared to reflect on whether the builder was building custom homes or tract housing.
Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower in Week Ending 1st October 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 24th September 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.90%.
Employers Continued to Cut Jobs in Q3 2020
According to the monthly report released today (10/1) from Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc., a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, job cuts announced by U.S. based employers jumped to 118,804 in September, up 2.6% from August’s total of 115,762.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending 26th September 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 837,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday September 26th. An decrease of 36,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Total U.S. Construction Spending up Year-Over-Year 2.5% in August
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during August 2020, was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,412.8 billion, 1.4% above the revised July estimate of $1,392.7 billion.
Canadians Remain Optimistic About Housing Even as the Second Wave of COVID-19 Starts
According to the latest Nanos Research for Bloomberg News poll, Canadians are increasingly optimistic about housing, even as the country finds itself in the grips of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.