Redfin, the Seattle-based real estate brokerage firm is reporting that demand for rural homes, which suddenly started to increase in April, has continued to grow through the month of July
Wood Markets News
Housing Starts, Permits and Completions all Moved Higher in July
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,496,000.
India’s Ban on Logging and Transportation of Timber Fails to Slowdown Construction
According to Krishnadatta Bhatta, chief at Pahalmanpur Division Forest Office in Kailali, the federal government on May 28, had put a stop to logging and transportation of timber for a number of reasons, which included: investigating the alleged financial irregularities in the sale of timber and in inviting tenders; to ensure transparency in the expenditure of the community forest funds; and finally to curb rapid tree felling that was taking place in the first months of 2020.
German Softwood Lumber with Bark Beetle Infestation Finds New Market in China
The spruce forest lands in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany have been suffering over the past three years. Unseasonably dry weather and then sudden and violent storms has created a perfect breeding ground for the bark beetle.
Builders Confidence in Newly Built Single-Family Homes Matches Record High Set in 1988
According to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) \ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) builder’s confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes increased by six points in August to a reading of 78.
Construction Input Prices Rise Again in July
A deeper dive into the recently released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI) by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reveals that construction input prices rose 1.9% in July when compared to those in June.
COVID-19 Pandemic Resulted in Elevated Loan Qualification Standards in the Second Quarter.
The latest release of the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion survey reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic and its widespread economic hardship caused many banks to elevate their qualification standards across all credit classes of household and business loans.
Forests Around the Globe are in Serious Danger due to the Impact of Beetle Infestation
A beetle, no larger than a grain of rice, the tiny mountain pine beetle, has already destroyed 15 years of log supplies in British Columbia and they are now chomping their way through forest in Alberta and other parts of the Pacific Northwest.
British Columbia Forestry Industry Back to Full Throttle Thanks to Record Breaking Lumber Prices
It is been a rough number of years for the British Columbia forestry sector.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Adds New 0.5% Fee to Refinance Mortgages Effective September 1st
On Thursday, August 13th, 2020, The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), along with the two governmental sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that effective September 1st, that any refinance mortgage loan sold Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will include a new adverse-market refinance fee of 0.5%.