The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 1 basis point from 4.19% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.18% as of May 23, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.1 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Wood Markets News
Private Residential Construction Increases in April
Further analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Construction Spending data for April, provided by the National Association of Home Builders, reports that total private residential construction spending rose 1.0% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $729.2 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 29.7% higher than a year ago.
Mortgage Applications Decline for Second Consecutive Week During Week Ending May 28, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending May 28, 2021, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased -4.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -5% compared with the previous week.
Bergkvist Siljan to Increase Production by 60% at their Insjön Sweden Sawmill
Bergkvist Siljan, a leading Swedish sawmilling group supplying sawn wood products to customers mainly in East Asia, Western Europe, and North Africa, announced that it has been granted by The Environmental Impact Assessment Delegation permission to increase the production of sawn wood products at their Insjön sawmill in Sweden, by approximately 60%, from 400,000 to 650,000 m3 per year.
U.S. Home Prices Post Third Consecutive Month of Double-Digit Growth in April
CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today (6-1-21) release their CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for April 2021.
Led by Construction Sector Increases Canada’s Real Gross Domestic Product Increased 1.1% in March
Statistics Canada (StatCan) is reporting, in preliminary estimates, that real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.1% in March, following a 0.4% increase in February.
U.S. Construction Spending Up Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in April
The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that total construction spending during April 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,524.2 billion, 0.2% above the revised March estimate of $1,521.0 billion.
Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Moves Higher in April Thanks to Increased Lumber and Wood Product Costs
Statistics Canada is reporting that prices for products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) rose 1.6% month over month in April and was 14.3% higher when compared with April 2020.
Loan Rates for Development and Construction Continued to Decline in Q1 of 2021
According to builders and developers responding to the National Association of Builder’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing continued to report declining interest rates in Q1 of 2021.
Over 50% of the Homes Sold Above Listing Price in 4-Week Period Ending May 23, 2021
Redfin, the Seattle-based technology powered real estate brokerage, is reporting that for the 4-week period ending on May 23, 2021, a record high of 51% of homes sold for more than their list price — up from 26% from a year ago.