Eye On Housing
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Application Survey shows that, for the week ending October 23, 2020, mortgage application activity increased by 1.7% from the prior week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as indicated by its Market Composite Index. Its two constituent indexes, the Purchasing Index and the Refinance Index, increased by 1.7% and 0.2%, respectively. The MBA’s tracked 30-year… Read More ›
Weekly initial jobless claims decreased for the week ending October 17, and continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, fell for the week ending October 10. The decreases in initial and continuing claims partially reflect that labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit slowly. Also, as unemployment benefits are expiring, claimants may move to… Read More ›
According to the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report released by the U.S. Department of Labor today, weekly initial jobless claims increased for the week ending October 10, while continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, fell for the week ending October 3. Labor market continues to struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the week ending… Read More ›
For the week ending October 9, 2020, the Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Application Survey showed a 0.7% drop in overall application activity from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as shown in its Market Composite Index. The constituent indices for Purchase and Refinance decreased by 1.6% and 0.3%, respectively, for the week. Despite the weekly declines, year-over-year gains… Read More ›
Consumer prices rose at a slower pace in September, while energy prices increased and food prices were unchanged. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, slower than a 0.4% increase in August and a 0.6% increase in July. Excluding the volatile food and energy… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through August 2020. In August, consumer credit decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2 percent from the previous month, with revolving debt1 decreasing at a staggering rate of 11-1/4 percent and nonrevolving debt2 increasing by 3/4 percent. Consumer credit… Read More ›
According to the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report released by the U.S. Department of Labor today, weekly initial jobless claims decreased slightly for the week ending October 3, and continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, fell sharply for the week ending September 26. The data indicate that labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,… Read More ›
For the week ending October 2, 2020, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey, showed a 4.6% increase in overall mortgage activity from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as seen in its Market Composite Index. The growth was driven primarily by the Refinancing Index, which shot up by 8.2% from the previous week, driven by a drop… Read More ›
Employment growth slowed in September. Total payroll employment rose by 661,000 and the unemployment rate fell to 7.9% for the month. The U.S. labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, but admittedly now at a slower pace. Residential construction employment rose by 22,100 in September to 2.9 million as housing remains a bright spot. Total construction industry (both… Read More ›
According to the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report released by the U.S. Department of Labor today, weekly initial jobless claims declined by 36,000 in the week ending September 26, and continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, decreased by nearly 1 million to 11.8 million for the week ending September 19. The decreases in initial jobless claims… Read More ›