News in end use

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) rose to a reading of 114.8 (1985=100) in January, up from a revised December reading of 108.0.

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.