Wood Markets News


Nearly 50% of Home Offers Written in December Ended in a Bidding War

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage firm is reporting that the traditional year-end slowdown in homebuying did not occur in December 2020. In fact, not only did buying and selling continue, but according to Redfin, 49.7% of the home offers written by its agents involved a bidding war between prospective buyers.

Canadian Housing Starts Trends Increased in December 2020

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in December the trend in Canadian housing starts was at 239,052 units, up from 236,334 units in November. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

Building Material Costs Increase Year-Over-Year by 5.4%

Further analysis, provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), of the December 2020, Producer Price Index (PPI), recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reveals that prices paid for goods used in residential construction in December, less energy costs, rose 0.7% and ended 2020, 5.4% above their December 2019 level.