According to the Federal Reserve Board, North American softwood sawmill capacity is at its greatest level since the Great Recession. Capacity increased by 1.4 billion board feet in the last year. And the vast majority of that increased capacity — 1.1 million board feet — is coming from the Southern U.S.
Wood Markets News
Delmarva Lumber Company Opens in Willards, MD and Hopes to Help All Businesses Along the Lumber Supply Chain
A ribbon cutting ceremony held today (5-26-21) marked the opening of Delmarva Lumber Company. Delmarva is located on former site of the Cropper Bros. Lumber Company in Willards, MD, which was closed in 2018. Rickards says the mill has over one million board feet of timber ready to start being shipped.
Two Year Streak of Increasing Housing Affordability Comes to an Ends in March 2021
According to the latest affordability report from First American Financial Corporation and its Chief Economist Mark Fleming, housing affordability on an annual basis declined in March for the first time since January 2019, signaling the end of a more than two-year streak of rising affordability.
Median Age Of U.S. Construction Workforce
Analysis of the most recent 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals that the median age of construction workers is 41, the same as typical worker in the national labor force.
Mortgage Applications Decline 4.2% in the Week Ending May 21, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending May 21, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -4.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased- 4% compared with the previous week.
Record Dry Soil and Vegetation in U.S. West Creates Potential for Increasingly Dangerous Wildfire Season
Last year’s wildfire season in the western U.S. set new records for damage and destruction. This year’s wildfire season is shaping up to be potentially worse. According to scientists, the soil is at record dry levels for this time of year — so is the vegetation that can fuel wildfires.
Sales of New Single-Family Home Sales Drop 5.9% in April
The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that new residential single-family home sales for April 2021 were at a SAAR of 863,000, according to estimates. This is -5.9% below the revised March rate of 917,000 but is 48.3% above the April 2020 estimate of 582,000.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Quarterly House Price Index up 12.6% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021
According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI®), U.S. house prices increased 12.6% from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021. This marks the 39th consecutive quarter of home price increase, or since September 2011. Compared to Q4 2020, house prices were up 3.5%.
S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index Reports Year-Over-Year Home Prices Climbed 13.2% in March
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 13.2% annual gain in March 2021, up from 12% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 12.8%, up from 11.7% in the previous month.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for Twelfth Week in a Row in Week Ending May 16, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 4.22% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.19% as of May 16, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.1 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.