The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today (7-15-21) released their Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for Q2 2021. The RMI posted a reading of 87, up 14 points from Q2 of 2020 and a sign of remodelers increasing confidence in their markets, for all size projects.
Wood Markets News
Integrated Mass Timber Elements Part of the New Royal BC Museum’s Collection and Research Building
Infrastructure BC has initiated the procurement process for a major building project on Vancouver Island. The new facility will cover approximately 167,000 sq. ft. (15,500 square-meters) and integrate mass timber elements while meeting CleanBC energy efficiency standards.
Mortgage Rates Drop for Third Consecutive Week in the Week Ending July 15, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 15, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.90%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.98%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Continued to Decline in the Week Ending July 10, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 360,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 10, 2021 — a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020.
Wildfire Burning in the Fremont-Winema National Forest — Currently Largest in the U.S.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), more than 14,000 firefighters and support personnel are attacking fires covering close to a million acres of land. The NIFC is reporting that the largest fire in the United States was incinerating huge swaths of the Fremont-Winema National Forest in southern Oregon.
Associated Builders and Contractors Reports Construction Backlog Indicator Increased to 8.5 Months in June
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported on Tuesday (7-13-21) that according to its latest ABC member survey conducted between June 20 and July 6, 2021, its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) rose to 8.5 months for June. The latest report is 0.5 months higher than the May 2021 report and 0.4 months higher than in June 2020.
Bidding Wars Slow as More Available Homes Hit the Market
According to a recently released report from Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage, the number of offers written by their agents that faced competition declined from 72.1% in May to 65% in June — well below the pandemic peak of 74.1% in April of this year. Nonetheless, that is higher than the 56.6% bidding war rate Redfin saw in June 2020.
Lower Canadian Softwood Lumber Prices Leads to Decline in Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index for June
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) today (7-14-21) released its flash/early estimate of the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) for June 2021. A final release will be issued on July 30, 2021. According to the report, the IPPI decreased by -0.4% month over month in June. However, year-over-year, the index was up 16.2%.
Producer Price Index for Final Demand Increases 1.0% in June
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today (7-14-21) that the Producer Price Index for final demand, seasonally adjusted, increased 1.0% in June. Final demand prices rose 0.8% in May, 0.6% in April, 1.0% in March and 0.5% in February. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index moved up 7.3% for the 12 months ended in June.
Mortgage Applications Jump 16.0% in the Week Ending July 9, 2021, Ending 2-week Downturn
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 9, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume, which includes an adjustment for the 4th of July holiday — increased 16.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -7% compared with the previous week.