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The median US mortgage payment was $2,361 during the four-week period ending on December 31st, down 14% from October’s record high, Redfin said.

The number of open construction jobs increased to 459,000 in November from a revised reading of 416,000 in October, the Census Bureau and NAHB reported.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.62%, up from last week when it averaged 6.61%, according to Freddie Mac.

Nonfarm private sector employment increased by 164,000 jobs in December and annual pay was up 5.4% year-over-year, according to ADP.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 202,000 during the week ending December 30th, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week.

US-based employers announced 34,817 job cuts in December, a 24% decline from November, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Private residential construction spending increased 1.1% in November, according to the Census Bureau and NAHB.

For the two-week period ending December 29th, mortgage loan application volume declined 9.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As of the last business day in November, the number of job openings changed little at 8.8 million. The job openings rate was unchanged at 5.3%.

Total construction spending during November was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,027.1 billion, 0.4% above the revised October estimate of $2,042.5 billion.