Eye On Housing
In the past month, total mortgage activity, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, underwent a series of weekly declines, decreasing in the latest week by 6.3 percent. The latest week’s survey is for the week ending April 1. The latest week’s activity consisted of a 3.4 percent decrease in purchasing and a 9.9 percent decrease… Read More ›
After a modest increase in February, consumer confidence surged to the highest level in a year, as consumers reporting a significantly more positive view of the job market and the economic growth. However, concerns about inflation may cause consumers to temper their spending in the coming months. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, rose 19.3 points from… Read More ›
After a strong rebound in September, consumer confidence fell for the second consecutive month in December, as job growth continued to slow and more states re-imposed restrictions on business due to resurgence of COVID-19. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, dropped 4.3 points from 92.9 to 88.6 in December, the lowest level since August 2020. The Present… Read More ›
After a slight decline last month, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), surged to near two-year high in December. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million in December, the highest level since February 2018. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 10.8%… Read More ›
After modest decline in August, consumer confidence continued to fall in September, marking the biggest monthly decline this year. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, slipped 9.1 points from 134.2 in August to 125.1 in September, as households are less optimistic about short-term economic outlook and recent escalation in trade tensions. The Present Situation Index decreased 7.0… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for August today. Nonfarm payroll employment extended its troublingly lackluster streak adding a meager 96 thousand jobs, down from a revised 141 thousand last month. The private sector added 103 thousand while the government sector shed another 7 thousand. Figures for the prior two months were revised downward by… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for July. The top line numbers show total nonfarm payrolls increased by 163 thousand, with private payrolls adding 172 thousand and government subtracting 9 thousand. Revisions to the prior two months lowered employment by 6 thousand for those months. The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth to 8.3 percent,… Read More ›
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey reported consumer confidence moving in opposite directions this month. The CCI indicated a modest gain while the University of Michigan survey showed a slight decrease in consumer confidence versus last month. While the month-to-month changes for each index have not been entirely consistent with one… Read More ›