Eye On Housing

• 2018 Third Quarter Mortgage Originations Grow from Prior Quarter
  Household Debt and Credit reports, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, show that mortgage balances, which make up the majority of household debt, increased by $141 billion in the third quarter of 2018 from the previous quarter to reach an outstanding amount of $9.14 trillion. They also show that mortgage originations increased […]
• Remodelers’ Confidence Holds Relatively Steady in Fourth Quarter
  The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) dropped one point to 57 in the fourth quarter, essentially unchanged from the third quarter (58), according to the National Association of Home Builders (Figure 1). Since the first quarter of 2013, the RMI has been at or above 50, which means that more remodelers report that market activity is […]
• Lower Interest Rates Stabilize Builder Confidence
  Buoyed by falling mortgage rates, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose two points to 58 in January on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The gradual decline in mortgage rates in recent weeks helped to sustain builder sentiment. Low unemployment, solid job growth and favorable demographics […]
• OSB Leads Building Materials Prices Lower in December
  Overall, the price of materials inputs to residential construction declined 1.8% in December (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While most building materials prices showed little movement in December, prices paid for OSB fell by double digits for the second consecutive month. OSB […]
• CPI Slipped in December
  In December, a big drop in energy prices dragged down headline inflation below zero, while core inflation remained steady. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), declined by 0.1% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, after being unchanged in November. The “core” CPI, which excludes the volatile food […]
• Student and Auto Loans Dominate Non-Mortgage Debt
  Preliminary consumer credit data for November 2018 released by the Federal Reserve Board’s G.19 Consumer Credit report, which exclude loans secured by real estate, indicate an increase in outstanding credit of about 6.75% (seasonally-adjusted annual rate) from the previous month. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 5.50%, while nonrevolving credit increased at an […]
• November 30-Year Mortgage Rate Data
  Information compiled by Freddie Mac shows that mortgage rates continued to increase in the fall. The 30-year FRM – Commitment rate, inched up by four basis points to 4.87 percent from 4.83 percent in October. With the November increase, the 30-year FRM – Commitment rate, was at the highest level since February 2011. As a […]
• West Leads in Job Gains in November
  On an annual basis, total nonfarm employment in November increased by 2.5 million jobs, which is a 1.7% increase compared to November 2017. During this time, total nonfarm employment in the Western region increased by 2.3% and in the Southern region by 2.2%. The Midwest and the Northeast recorded the lowest gains at 1.3% during […]
• Construction Job Openings Decline in November
  The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector decreased in November, as building activity declined with higher interest rates at the end of 2018. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs fell to 278,000 in November. The October estimate was […]
• Pending Home Sales Fall in November
  Pending home sales declined slightly in November on an annualized basis for the eleventh straight month. The Pending Home Sales Index decreased by 0.7% from 102.1 in October to 101.4 in November, and was 7.7% below the level one year ago. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts […]