Redfin reported on Thursday that 44.6% of home offers written by Redfin agents nationwide faced competition in August. This is the lowest bidding-war rate since the beginning of the pandemic when the housing market nearly came to a halt.
Wood Markets News
New York’s First Mass Timber Condominium, the Timber House, Built in Brooklyn’s Park Slope Neighborhood
In Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, the Timber House is the first mass timber condo building in New York. It includes six stories of post-and-beam construction with exposed glulam columns and beams and CLT floor plates.
Koskisen and Stora Enso Develop Revolutionary Bio-Based Furniture Board
Koskisen is a Finnish wood industry company that produces sawn timber and panel products. Koskisen uses Stora Enso’s bio-based binder, NeoLingo® by Stora Enso, which is replacing fossil-based resins used in furniture boards.
Canadian Unemployment Increases Month-Over-Month in July—Still Holds at Record Low Level
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that 506,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance benefit in Julys. This is an increase of 14,000, or 2.9%, when compared to June. It was also the first increase since January 2022.
Canada’s Growing Population and Decades-Long Shortfall in Home and Apartment Building Continue to Impact Housing Availability
According to the recently released Re/Max Canada 2022 Housing Inventory Report, inventory levels in eight major Canadian housing centers have been dwindling over the past decade. And even with lower levels of real estate activity this year, affordability will be a growing concern along with availability.
Two-Thirds of Young Adults That Moved in With Parents During the Pandemic Are Still Living There
A recent LendingTree survey found that two-thirds of young adults who moved in with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic are still living there. Fifty one percent said they moved home to out of necessity, while 49% said they moved home to save money.
Energy Crisis and Inflation Send EU Consumer Sentiment to New Record Low
A monthly gauge issued from the European Commission fell to -28.8 for September. That was in excess of analysts’ predictions of a -25.5 decline and has resulted in consumer confidence in the Euro-area sinking to its lowest level on record.
The Conference Board Reports US Leading Economic Index® Declined for 6th Consecutive Month in August
The Conference Board released today its Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US in August 2022. According to the report, the LEI declined 0.3% in August to a reading of 116.2 (2016=100), following declines of 0.5% in July and 0.7% in June.
Mortgage Rates Continued to Trek Higher in the Week Ending September 22, 2022
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 22, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.29% with an average 0.9 point, up from last week when it averaged 6.02%.
US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase for the Week Ending September 17, 2022
The US Department of Labor is reporting that seasonally adjusted an additional 213,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, September 17, 2022. This is an increase of 5,000 from the previous week.