Eye On Housing
Amid Record Low Rates, Refinancing Flourishes
Over the last two weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s tracked 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average rate fell by 14 basis points to 3.06%, a new record low in the series. At the same time, the results from its Weekly Application Survey show both weekly and year-over-year percentage increases in purchasing and refinancing activities. On a seasonally adjusted basis, purchasing activity increased… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Gain for the “Core” CPI in July
In July, overall inflation remained unchanged from the previous month, while core inflation accelerated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in June. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, “core” CPI rose by 0.6% in July, after an increase… Read More ›
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Softwood Lumber Costs Up Nearly 30% Over Three Months, Push Building Materials Prices Higher in July
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction continued their upward trend in July, increasing 1.8% (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the third consecutive monthly increase since the index declined three months straight by a total 5.4%. The index has decreased 1.3% year-to-date (YTD), a larger… Read More ›
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Construction Hiring Continued in June
After an accelerated pace of layoffs in March and April, construction sector hiring roared back in May and continued at somewhat reduced pace in June, per data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). In May, the hiring rate increased to 9.7%, after a subdued 3.7% rate in April. This was the strongest rate of hiring in… Read More ›
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Nonrevolving Debt Fuels June Consumer Credit
The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through June 2020. In June, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6% from the previous month, with revolving debt1 decreasing by 2.8% and nonrevolving debt2 increasing by 4.3 percent. Consumer credit totaled $4.1 trillion on a seasonally… Read More ›
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Job Market Gains Continue
Surpassing recent dampened expectations, total payroll employment rose by 1.8 million and the unemployment rate declined to 10.2% in July. The U.S. labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Residential construction employment rose by 24,000 in July to 2.8 million. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment rebounded to nearly 7.2 million in July. It is worth… Read More ›
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Initial and Continuing Claims Decline
Weekly initial jobless claims decreased in the week ending August 1 after two weeks of increases. Continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, dropped by 844,000 in the week ending July 25. Although jobless claims remain at historically high levels, the decreases in initial jobless claims and continuing claims indicate that labor market is recovering gradually from… Read More ›
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Housing Affordability Hits 18-Month Low on Lack of Supply, Higher Prices
Despite low interest rates, a supply shortage coupled with rising home prices contributed to a decline in housing affordability in the second quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 59.6 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable… Read More ›
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Business Application Shows Growth in Q2 2020
Housing creates jobs, and housing in turn follows job growth from business activity. Thus, tracking the growth of enterprise provides a guide to future home building. The Census Bureau recently released its Second Quarter 2020 Business Formation Statistics Report (BFS). The report provides timely and high-frequency data on business applications and employer business formations measured by applications for an Employer… Read More ›
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Treasury and Mortgage Rate Spread Widens in July
The month of July witnessed a sustained downward trend in the 10-year U.S. Treasury, as it dipped below 0.6%. Despite the downward trend of Treasuries, which are a proxy measure of the risk-free rate that the government offers on debt, mortgage rates through July did not decrease proportionately. The spread between the 10-year Treasury and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate… Read More ›