Mortgage Market Update

By Kurt Real Estate Mar 9, 2021

Mortgage rates trended downward last week. Construction spending hit an all-time high in January. Mortgage application submissions increased. The ADP employment report showed increases as well. Initial jobless claims rose while continuing jobless claims fell. Average hourly earnings saw gains, while average weekly hours declined slightly. Nonfarm, manufacturing, and private payrolls all surged. The unemployment rate dropped, and the participation rate remained unchanged.

FHFA doubles affordable housing disbursement. Read Now >>Robert Diaz talks timeline for buyers’ return to the cities. Watch Now >>How the American Rescue Plan can help real estate. Read Now >>In January, construction spending jumped 1.7% to reach a record high of $1.52 trillion. Year-over-year, construction spending rose 5.8%, as low mortgage rates have driven more home buyers into the market in search of new homes. Spending on private construction projects, like residential building, increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.16 trillion. Residential outlays specifically increased 2.5% while nonresidential spending inched up 0.4%. Public construction spending rose 1.7% to reach a seasonally adjusted rate of $362 billion.ADP private-sector employment added 117,000 jobs in February. Small businesses (under 50 employees) gained 32,000 workers, while midsized companies (50 to 499 employees) added 57,000 jobs and large companies (500 or more employees) added 28,000 workers to their payroll. Service sector companies added 131,000 jobs while the goods sector businesses shed 14,000 jobs. For the week ending 2/27, initial jobless claims increased by 9,000 to reach 745,000. The previous week’s level was revised up to 736,000. During the week ending 2/20, continuing jobless claims fell by 124,000 to hit a level just below 4.3 million. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in February and 5.3% year-over-year. The average workweek was shortened slightly, down to 34.6 hours. Manufacturing payrolls jumped by 21,000 after a fall of 14,000 in January. Nonfarm payrolls more than doubled, hitting 379,000, and private payrolls surged from 90,000 to 465,000. The unemployment rate fell to 6.2% and the participation rate remained at 61.4%.

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Kurt Galitski | The Kurt Real Estate Group | Top 2% Coldwell Banker Agents Nationally | BRE# 01348644 | www.KurtRealEstate.com https://youtu.be/9c0h4KCgKUQ Kurt@KurtRealEstate.com