According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) /Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), housing affordability declined in the second quarter of 2020.
News in end use
Builder Confidence in 55+ Housing Market Back to Pre-Pandemic Level
According to the recently released National Association of Builders’ (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) builder’s confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market increased 27 points to a reading of 65 in the second quarter.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline More Than Anticipated in the Week Ending 1st August 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 1.186 million Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday August 1st.
Mortgage Rates Hit Another Record Low in Week Ending 6th August 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 6th August 2020.
ADP Reports National Employment in the Private Sector Increased in July
According to the July ADP National Employment Report®, private sector employment increased by 167,000 jobs from June to July.
Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decrease for Seventh Week in a Row
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Volume Survey for July 26th, reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 7.74% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 7.67% as of July 26th, 2020.
Mortgage Applications Decline Week Ending July 31st 2020
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 31st, 2020, the Market Composite Index decreased -5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
The Spread Between Mortgage Rates and Treasury Notes Increases in July
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note is traditionally a stand-in measure of the risk-free rate that the U.S. government offers on debt. However, although the 10-year U.S. Treasury note experienced a downward trend in July, dipping below 0.6%, mortgage rate through July failed to decrease proportionately.
Construction Output in Second Quarter of 2020 Significantly Slows Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
According to The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Chief Economist Anirban Baus, the “ABC’s Construction Confidence Index indicated that a majority of contractors suffered some form of interruption to their activities during the second quarter of 2020, whether due to a lack of available inputs as global supply chains buckled, project postponements or cancellations, jobsite workforce issues or state and local government mandates.”
Construction Spending Down Slightly in June but Up 5% in First 6-Months of 2020 When Compared to Same Period in 2019.
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that construction spending during June 2020 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,355.2 billion, -0.7% below the revised May estimate of $1,364.7 billion.