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.
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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.
Housing Remains Bright Spot in U.S. Economy
As the overall U.S. economy struggles to get back on track, the housing industry is in position to lead the economic recovery.
Personal and Disposable Income Decrease in June
The U.S. Commerce Department \ Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is reporting that personal income in June decreased by $222.8 billion or -1.1%.
FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey – Dealers Remain Optimistic About Near-Term Business Activity
Additional positive news coming from the housing industry this week, combined with continuing near record low mortgage rates, and an increase in the number of buyers who are actively pursuing the purchase of a new or existing home, provided dealers responding to our Weekly Orders Survey more reasons to remain optimistic about their near-term business activity.
The Number of Buyers Actively Searching for Their ‘Dream Home’ Increase in Second Quarter of 2020
A deeper look into the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Trend Report (HTR) reveals that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, near record low mortgage rates have approximately 11% of adult Americans not only considering a future home purchase within the next year, but a majority of them are seriously and actively searching.
U.S. Unemployment for the Week Ending July 25th Up for Second Week in a Row
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 1.434 million Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 25th.
Builder Confidence in 55+ Housing Market Increases in Second Quarter of 2020
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is reporting that in their 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market jumped 27 points to a reading of 65 in the second quarter of 2020.