According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. Census divisions, home prices experienced a 16.6% annual gain in May 2021, up from 14.8% in April and 13.3% in March.
Wood Markets News
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.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Reports U.S. Home Prices Increased 1.7% Month-Over-Month and 18.0% Year-Over-Year in May 2021
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI®), U.S. house prices increased 1.7% in May, up from April 2021’s unrevised 1.6% increase. House prices increased 18.0% from May 2020 to May 2021.
The Conference Board Reports Consumer Confidence Index Little Changed in July
The Conference Board — a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916 — released today (7-27-21) their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for July 2021. The CCI was little changed in July, following five consecutive monthly gains. The Index now stands at 129.1 (1985=100), up slightly from June’s 128.9 reading.
Despite Modest Uptick in New Requests, Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for 21st Consecutive Week During the Week Ending July 18, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance fell by 2 basis points from 3.50% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.48% as of July 18, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.74 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
More than 85 Large Wildfires Have Already Burned 1.4 Million Acres Across the U.S.
There are more than 85 large wildfires burning throughout the U.S., most of them are in Western states. To date they have burned over 1.4 million acres.
New Home Sales Tumble for Third Month in a Row in June 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new residential single-family home sales for June 2021 were at a SAAR of 676,000, according to estimates. This is -6.6% below the revised May rate of 724,000 and is -19.4% below the June 2020 estimate of 839,000.
More than 250 Wildfires Continue to Burn in British Columbia
The B.C. Wildfire Service is reporting that there are 257 wildfires currently burning throughout the province. That is one less than was being reported at the Saturday update and down from about 300 being reported earlier in the week. Nonetheless, there are still 58 evacuations orders in place that are impacting about 4,400 properties.
Hunt Forest Products and Tolko Industries Announce a Joint Venture to Build a New State-of-the Art Sawmill in Bienville, Louisiana
Hunt Forest Products and Tolko Industries today (7-26-21) announced that they intended to build a $240 million, state-of-the-art sawmill in Bienville Parish near Taylor, Louisiana. The new sawmill project is a joint venture between Hunt Forest Products and Tolko.
Fire Destroys Sawmill Manufacturing Building at Glidden Lumber Co. in Parkman, Maine
A fire last Tuesday (7-20-21) morning destroyed the main sawmill manufacturing building at Glidden Lumber Company in Parkman, Maine. Local officials believe that a faulty piece of machinery was the cause of the blaze.