Freddie Mac is reporting that its Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index® declined by -4.8% in Q4 2021 and is down -2.4% when compared to Q4 2020. Record multifamily price appreciation, which saw its largest single-quarter growth in the history of the index, and rising mortgage rates more than offset unprecedented growth in net operating incomes.
Wood Markets News
Mortgage Applications Decline for the Second Consecutive Week in the Week Ending March 18, 2022
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending March 18, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) declined -8.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Shares of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decline to 1.18% as of February 28, 2022
According to the new monthly Mortgage Bankers Association’s Loan Monitoring Survey, the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by -12 basis points from 1.30% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 1.18% as of February 28, 2022. The MBA estimates that 590,000 homeowners remain in forbearance plans.
Canadian Pacific Railway Resumes Operations After Agreeing to Binding Arbitration with Teamsters of Canada Rail Conference Union
The Canadian Pacific Railway resumed operations at Noon (MDT) on Tuesday (3-22-22) after reaching an agreement with the Teamsters of Canada Rail Conference union, which represents more than 3,000 workers at the railway, to resolve their labor dispute through binding arbitration. The agreement for binding arbitration comes after six months of contract negotiations.
Western Forest Products Announces Another Temporary Curtailment at Their Chemainus Sawmill
Western Forest Products (WFP) announced on Monday (3-21-22) that starting this week, their Chemainus Sawmill is once again undergoing a production curtailment due to a lack of logs. The last curtailment started on February 2nd and lasted nearly three weeks.
Nuchatlaht First Nation Asks B.C. Supreme Court to Halt Logging on Parts of the Nation’s Territory
Lawyers for the Nuchatlaht First Nation asked the B.C. Supreme Court to recognize its rights and title and put a stop to logging on their land. The lawsuit filed in 2017 asserts that the governments have denied Nuchatlaht rights by authorizing logging and “effectively dispossessing” the nation of parts of its territory on Vancouver Island’s west coast.
Fire Insurance Unaffordable for Most Australian Plantation Timber Growers
Still recovering from the Black Summer bushfires, the Australian timber industry continues to face a multitude of issues and insurance, or the lack thereof, is just one of many. After the east coast bushfires of a couple of years ago, plantation fire insurance rates tripled or quadrupled.
Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Moves Higher in February Led by Energy, Petroleum, and Softwood Lumber Gains
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (3-22-22) that prices of products manufactured in Canada rose 3.1% month-over-month in February 2022 and were up 16.4% year-over-year. The prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada increased 6.0% month-over-month in February 2022 and are up 29.8% year-over-year.
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group Lowers Its GDP Expectations for 2022
The ESR has indicated that continuing supply chain issues, increasing inflation, and the conflict in Ukraine are all placing macroeconomic pressure on the market. These factors have resulted in the downgrading of their expectations for GDP growth by year-end from 2.8% in their February 2022 commentary to 2.3% in their March 2022 commentary.
Canadian Pacific Railway Shutdown Underway as Talks With the Union Continue
With no new negotiated contract in place between the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Teamsters Canada Rail conference (TCRC), which represents 3,000 engineers, conductors, yard workers, and other train employees, CP rail traffic ground to a halt at 12:01 AM on Sunday, March 20, 2022.