Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that the custom home share decreased to 17.8% of all single-family homes started in 2020. That is the lowest annual custom home share has been since the redesigning of the SOC in 2005.
Wood Markets News
Housing Market Goes from White Hot to Red Hot just as Fall Buying Season Starts
Zillow Group, Inc., the Seattle-based real estate marketplace company, in their latest Zillow® Market Report revealed that the runaway monthly increases in home values and rents slowed in August. This paves the way, Zillow says, for a strong but more manageable housing market for this coming fall.
University of Michigan Releases Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index for September
The University of Michigan today (Friday 9-17-21) released its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for September. The Index of Consumer Sentiment increased to a reading of 71.0 in September, up from 70.3 in August — a month-over-month increase +1.0% but -11.7% year-over-year (80.4 in September 2020).
Hurricane Ida Hits the Louisiana Timber Industry
Unlike with Katrina, during Ida a lot of small, scattered trees as well as big ones went down. “Anything 15 years and up that was on commercial forest land that was planted and thinned before Ida hit, those stands have been pretty much totally devastated.”
Canadian Housing Starts Decline Month-Over-Month in August
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC) reported on Wednesday (9-15-21) that the annual pace of housing starts in Canada in August slowed when compared with July, as the rate of new home construction continued to decline from their highs earlier in the year. According to the CMHC, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 260,239 units in August, down from 270,744 in July.
Metsä Group Planning to Invest EUR 200 Million in the Construction of a Kerto® LVL mill in Äänekoski, Finland
Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group, is planning to construct a new Kerto® LVL mill on its expanding mill area in Äänekoski, Finland. The investment of approximately EUR 200 million is pending the completion of a local detailed plan for the area.
Contractor Confidence Declines in August as Construction Backlog Indicator Tumbles Lower
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported on Tuesday (9-14-21) that is Construction Backlog Indicator, the results of an ABC member survey, declined significantly to a reading of 7.7 months in August. The reading is down -0.8 months month-over-month (July vs. August) and down 0.3 months year-over-year (August 2020 vs. August 2021).
Canadian Consumer Price Index Increases 4.1% Year-Over-Year
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (9-16-21) that the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4.1% on a year-over-year basis in August, up from a 3.7% gain in July. This is the fastest growth rate in the CPI since March 2003.
Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower in the Week Ending September 16, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 16, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.86% with an average 0.7 point, down slightly from last week when it averaged 2.88%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.87%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending September 11, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 332,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, September 11, 2021. This is an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised level.