News in end use

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has reported their Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI), which is based on signed real estate contracts, not actual closings, for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops, declined for the second straight month in a row failing -1.1% in October to a reading of 128.9.

According to the “second” estimate released today (11/25) by The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 33.1% in Q3 of 2020. In Q2 of 2020, the real GDP decreased -31.4%.

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending November 25th, 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.72% with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from the previous week.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 778,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, November 21st.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are jointly reporting that the sales of new single-family houses in October 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending November 20th, 2020, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Tuesday (11/24) that the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2021. In most of the U.S., the 2021 maximum conforming loan limit (CLL) for single-unit properties will be $548,250, an increase from the 2020 CLL of $510,400.

Home prices jump higher due to stronger demand from buyers seeking more space due to coronavirus pandemic.