News in end use

As of the last business day in December, the number of job openings changed little at 9.0 million. The job opening rate was unchanged at 5.4%.

A homebuyer with a $3,000 monthly budget has gained nearly $40,000 in purchasing power since mortgage rates peaked last year, Redfin reported.

Canadian payroll employment declined by 88,300, or 0.5%, in November. This follows a decline of 24,000, or 0.1%, in October.

The National Association of Realtors® Pending Home Sales Index was 8.3% higher in December, climbing to a reading of 77.3.

For the four-week period ending January 21st, the median sales price of US existing homes increased 5.1%, Redfin reported.

Personal income (PI) increased 0.3% month-over-month in December; disposable personal income (DPI) increased 0.3%; and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.7%.

New residential single-family home sales were at a SAAR of 664,000 in December, 8.0% above November and 4.4% above December 2022.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69%, up from last week when it averaged 6.60%, Freddie Mac reported.

Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.3% in Q4, the BEA said in its “advance estimate. That follows a reported real GDP increase of 4.9% in Q3.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Purchase Applications Payment Index fell 3.8% to a reading of 161.8 in December, down from 168.2 in November.