Wood Markets News


TimberQuest Provides Innovative, Sustainable, Highly Efficient Solutions for Mass Timber Classrooms for California K–12 and Community Colleges

TimberQuest is the partnership between XL Construction, Milpitas, with Aedis Architects, San Jose and Daedalus Structural Engineering, based in Saratoga, and combines the organizations’ unique expertise in 21st century learning environments with mass timber design and construction.

Affordability Continues to Challenge Homebuyers

On Tuesday (7-27-21), the First American Financial Corporation — a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services, and risk solutions for real estate transactions headquartered in Santa Ana, California — released the May 2021 First American Real House Price Index (RHPI).

U.S. Census Bureau Reports Home Ownership Rate in Q2 2021 at 65.4%

On Tuesday (7-27-21) the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of Bureau’s Q2 2021 Housing Vacancy Survey. According to the survey, the national vacancy rates in Q2 of 2021 was 6.2% for rental housing and 0.9% for homeowner housing. The rental vacancy rate was 0.5% points higher than the rate in Q2 2020 (5.7%) and -0.6% points lower than the rate in Q1 2021 (6.8%).

Mortgage Applications Increase in the Week Ending July 23, 2021

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 23, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6% compared with the previous week.

Freddie Mac Multifamily Midyear Outlook Projects Higher Rents, Fewer Vacancies, and Greater Market Sales Activity

On Monday, July 26, 2021, Freddie Mac Multifamily, the nation’s multifamily housing finance leader, released its Multifamily Midyear Outlook (MMO). The MMO reports that demand for multifamily housing is now ahead of pre-pandemic levels. As a result, the MMO is projecting higher rents, falling vacancies and a record-setting originations market in the remainder of 2021.