Solid Job Market in December
The U.S. labor market finished 2024 with solid job growth and a decrease in the unemployment rate. In December, wage growth slowed. Wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down…
Solid Job Market in December
The U.S. labor market finished 2024 with solid job growth and a decrease in the unemployment rate. In December, wage growth slowed. Wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.3 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which…
Residential Construction Loan Volumes Decline Over the Third Quarter
The total volume of outstanding acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) loans made by FDIC-insured institutions fell for the third consecutive quarter during the third quarter of 2024 to a volume of $490.7 billion, down from $495.8 billion in the second quarter. Interest rates remained higher…
U.S. Population Grows at Highest Rate Since 2001
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates, the U.S. resident population grew by 3,304,757 to a total population of 340,110,988. The population grew at a rate of 0.98%, the highest rate since 0.99% in 2001. This also marked the third straight increase in the…
Mortgage Applications Increase Marginally in December
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, increase marginally by 2.9% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. Compared to December 2023, the index is higher by 10.2%. The Market Composite Index includes…
Construction Labor Market Tightens A Little
After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs has remained lower than a year ago, per the November Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). However, the…
Home Prices Continue to Slow in October
Home price growth continued to slow in October, growing at a rate of 3.60% year-over-year, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA). This marks a decline from the 3.90% growth rate recorded in September and represents the seventh consecutive…
Private Residential Construction Spending Inches Up in November
Private residential construction spending edged up by 0.1% in November 2024, according to the latest U.S. Census Construction Spending data. Year-over-year, the November report showed a 3.1% increase. The monthly increase in total private construction spending was primarily driven by higher spending on single-family construction…