According to Genworth Mortgage Insurance (GMI), an operating segment of Genworth Financial, first-time home buyer activity decreased in the second quarter due to the pandemic, but overall it still remains active.
Wood Markets News
Single-Family Rent Prices Increase 1.7% in July, First Upward Movement Since Start of Pandemic
CoreLogic, the Irvine, California based corporation providing financial, property, and consumer information, analytics, and business intelligence has released their latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI) for July.
Mortgage Rates Move Slightly Higher for the Week Ending September 17th, 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 17th, 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87% with an average 0.8 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.86%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline for the Week Ending September 12th, 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 860,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday September 12th.
Single-Family Housing Starts and Permits Up Year-Over-Year in August
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,416,000. This is -5.1% below the revised July estimate of 1,492,000, but is 2.8% above the August 2019 rate.
Canadian Forest Industry 2020 Contractor Survey Reports Operating Costs Continue to Increase
The results from the Canadian Forest Industries (CFI) 2020 Contractor Survey, which was conducted during the months of April and May of 2020 has some interesting findings.
LSU AgCenter’s Preliminary Estimate Sets Hurricane Laura Losses at $1.6 billion
According to preliminary estimates from the LSU AgCenter, Hurricane Laura caused about $1.6 billion in losses to Louisiana’s agriculture and forestry industries.
Soaring Lumber Sales Help Nova Scotia Sawmills Overcome Northern Pulp Mill Closure
There were major concerns about the future of the forest industry in the province of Nova Scotia when Northern Pulp shuttered their plant earlier in the year.
New Home Mortgage Applications Up Year-Over-Year in August
The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for August reveals that mortgage applications, year-over-year increased 33.3%.
Canadian Home Sales and Prices Up in August
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is reporting that Canadian homes sale set another new all-time record high in August rising 6.2% above July 2020.