The missing piece in the housing market, according to Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda, the housing market research and real estate analytics firm, is labor.
News in end use
Mortgage Rates are at New Record Low Level in the Week Ending December 17th, 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending December 17th, 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.67% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.71%.
Housing Starts and Permits Increase in November
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.547,000.
Weekly Jobless Claims Inches Higher in the Week Ending December 12th, 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 885,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, December 12th. An increase of 23,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Builder Confidence in Newly Built Single-Family Homes Drops in December
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) indicates that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes declined 4-points to a reading of 86 in December. Bringing the three consecutive month streak of new records highs to an end.
Mortgage Applications Increase 1.1% in Week Ending December 11th, 2020
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending December 11th, 2020. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.1% percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
China’s New Home Price Increases Slowed in November
Official data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that new home prices in 70 of China’s major cities continued to cool in November.
The Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases Modestly in the Week Ending December 6th, 2020
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased from 5.54% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.48% as of December 6th, 2020.
Canadian Housing Starts Up in November
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) the trend, which measures a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR), in housing starts was 231,491 units in November 2020, up from 222,989 units in October 2020.
Residential and Nonresidential Construction Input Prices Decline in November
Analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI) data, provided by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reveals that construction input prices fell -0.5% in November, when compared to those in October.