6/3: EconUpdate by P. Duffy
EconUpdate by P. Duffy
Purchase loan apps fall 3 percent from previous week, down 2 percent year-on-year
What does this mean? Low inventory, rising prices and supply chain challenges are likely impacting sales activity.
The Market Composite Index decreased 4.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, with purchase loans falling 3 percent (and down 2 percent year-on-year) and refinances falling 5 percent (but up 6 percent year-on-year). The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 3.17 percent from 3.18 percent.
Construction spending rises 1.0 percent in April, up 9.8 percent year-on-year
What does this mean? A new boost in multi-family spending indicates renewed strength in condo and apartment markets.
Seasonally adjusted construction spending in April edged up 1.0 percent from March, and was up 9.8 percent year-on-year when compared to last year’s pandemic-related decline. Interestingly, while private spending on new single-family homes rose 1.3 percent from March (and up 39.6 percent year-on-year), it rose 1.9 percent for new multi-family homes (and up 27.1 percent year-on-year).
https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf
May report on manufacturing sector rises another 0.5 points to 61.2
What does this mean? Although demand remains strong, companies continue to grapple with rising input prices, material shortages and labor challenges.
The May Manufacturing PMI® registered 61.2 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from the April reading of 60.7 percent. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 12th month in a row after contraction in April 2020. Consumption was clearly limited due to labor issues and supply constraints as demand remains very high. Record-long lead times, wide-scale shortages of critical basic materials, rising commodities prices and difficulties in transporting products are continuing to affect all segments of the manufacturing economy.
https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/pmi/may/