News in end use

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 218,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

In 2023Q4, just 37.7% of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the US median income of $96,300, NAHB reported.

The US homeownership rate declined to 65.7%, a result of continuing tight housing supply and elevated mortgage interest rates, according to the Census Bureau and NAHB.

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index® rose 3.5 points in January to a reading of 70.7. Year-over-year, the full HPSI is up 9.1 points.

Mortgage loan application volume increased 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, MBA reported.

In Q4, 31.8% of all US single-family homes for sale were new construction, Redfin reported. That is that comparable with 31.9% in 2022Q4, the highest level of any Q4 on record.

The total value of building permits in Canada declined 14.0% from November to $9.2 billion (CAD) in December.

The US rental market logged its sixth consecutive month of negative growth with the nationwide median rent falling 0.3%, in February, Apartment List reported.

Overall employment in the construction sector increased by 11,000 positions in January, NAHB analysis shows.

Total US nonfarm payroll employment increased by 353,000 in January, similar to the revised gain of 333,000 in December. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.