Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 9, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% with an average 0.7 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.87%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.86%.
Wood Markets News
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending September 4, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 310,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, September 4, 2021. This is a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.
West Fraser Announces Output Reductions at Lumber and Panel Mills during Q3
West Fraser announced the reduction of between 5% and 10% of output during Q3.
Tolko Industries’ Athabasca OSB Mill Receives Upgrade with Installation of New Ripline
Tolko Industries’ Athabasca OSB mill, located in Slave Lake, Alberta, has the largest continuous OSB press in North America and the only continuous press in North America to produce OSB and Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL) on the same line. Recently, the Athabasca received an upgrade with the addition of a new ripline.
Western Australia to Band Native Forest Logging Starting at the End of 2023
Western Australia (WA) Premier Mark McGowan has announced an effort to preserve an estimated two million hectares of vegetation by banning logging of native forest in WA starting at the end of 2023. The changes will be contained in a new Forest Management Plan, due for release shortly, that from 2024 will ban the removal of timber from native forests besides for “limited forest management activities…
Mortgage Applications Decline for Second Consecutive Week in the Week Ending September 3, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending September 3, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -1.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -3% compared with the previous week.
Maine’s First Complete Mass Timber Structure Being Built at Bowdoin College in Brunswick
Brunswick, Maine’s Bowdoin College is soon to become home of the first complete mass timber commercial structure in the state of Maine and also the first commercial structure in Maine to utilize a mass timber lateral system to resist wind and seismic loads.
Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for 27th Consecutive Week in the Week Ending August 29, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 2 basis points from 3.25% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week, to 3.23% as of August 29, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey for July 2021
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today (9-8-21) reported its Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for July 2021. According to the JOLTS report, as of the last business day in July, the number and rate of job openings was at a series record high of 10.9 million, or +749,000. The job openings rate increased to 6.9%.
78 Large Wildfires Continue to Burn in the Western US — Only 2 are Contained
The National Interagency Fire Center reported today (9-7-21) that there are 78 large fires or complexes currently burning in the U.S. Those wildfires have burned more than 1.9 million acres in 10 states. That is up one from Monday’s report.