The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that total existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops increased 0.7% from November 2020, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million in December.
Wood Markets News
Milan Lumber Company Announces Modernization Plans to Start in April
Milan Lumber Company, LLC, located in Milan, New Hampshire, has announced a $10 – $12 million dollar modernization plan that will make the plant safer, more efficient and hopefully more profitable. The company plans on commencing work in April, and that work will include the revamping of the planning mill and getting an additional drying kiln in operation by the fall.
Executive Order Extends Ban on Evictions and Foreclosures Through at Least End of March
President Biden, on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021, issued an executive order that called on the federal departments and to the extended their bans on evictions and foreclosures through at least the end of March.
Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Lower in Week Ending January 21st, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 21st January 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.79%.
Remodeler Confidence Remained High in Q4 2020
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) is reporting in their Q4 2020 Remodeling Market Index (RMI) had a reading of 79. The reading shows remodelers’ strong confidence in their markets, for projects of all sizes, in spite of the ongoing negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline Slightly in the Week Ending January 16th, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 900,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday January 16th. A decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Housing Starts and Permits Up in December and Year-Over-Year
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,669.000. This is 5.8% above the revised November estimate of 1,578,000 and is 5.2% above the December 2019 rate.
Charred Timber from Woodhead Wildfire in Idaho to Help Fund Idaho Schools
The Woodhead Fire, near Council Idaho, which started from unknown causes on September 7th, 2020, had not even been partially contained before the Idaho Department of Lands forestry team, knowing that for a limited time blackened timber still have a value, began evaluating the potential for selling burned trees as salvage sales.
Dodge Data & Analytics Reports Total Construction Starts Declined in December and Year-Over-Year
According to Dodge Data & Analytics, one of North America’s leading providers of commercial construction project data and workflow integrated solutions for the construction industry, in December total construction starts lost -5%, failing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $784.3 billion.
RE/MAX Holding Inc., Reports December Year-Over-Year Home Sales 21.9% Higher
According to new data released by RE/MAX, home sales during December increased by 6.2% from November and year-over-year were 21.9% higher. December will go down in the 2020 history books as the fifth busiest month for homes sales in the year and December 2020 sales were greater than all but two months in 2019.