The COVID-19 pandemic has altered how many Americans work and go to school. Instead of large office complexes and classrooms, many Americans continue to work and receive educational instruction from their homes.
News in end use
Large City Canadian Condo Owners Struggle to Sell Their Units Delaying Moves to Single-Family Home
Condo owners in Canada’s largest cities like Toronto and Vancouver are ready to pack up and move to new single-family detached homes. The current interest rates are attractive and having a back yard for the kids to play would be a real bonus.
Consumer Comfort Index Matches Early April Levels
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index (BCCI), which was released on Thursday (11/19) rose 1.8 points to a reading of 49.8 last week. Not only matching a mid-September reading that was strongest since early April, but also marking three straight weeks of improvement.
New Single-Family Home Sizes Are Stabilizing and Starting to Grow
According to Q3 2020 data from the US Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completion by Purpose and Design report, and with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), after years of steady decline, new home sizes appear to be finally stabilizing and perhaps even growing.
Outlook for Multifamily Housing Market Continued to Improve in Q3 2020
After hitting a rough patch in Q1 of 2020, confidence in the multifamily housing market continued to grow in Q2 and again in Q3.
Leading Economic Indicators in U.S. Continued to Increase in October
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.7% in October to a reading of 108.2 (2016 = 100), this following a similar 0.7% increase in September and a 1.6% increase in August.
Existing Home Sales Increase 4.3% Month-Over Month and 26.6% Year-Over-Year in October
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has reported that total existing-home sales in October, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 4.3% above September, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million in October.
Mortgage Rates Set New Record Lows in the Week Ending 19th November 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 12th November 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.72% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.84%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Edge Higher in the Week Ending 14th November 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 742,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday November 14th. An increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Single-Family Homes Built-for-Rent Expands in Q3 2020
A deeper look into the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completion by Purpose and Design, provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveal that the number of single-family homes built-for-rent (SFBFR) posted a year-over-year increase for the Q3 of 2020.