- Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,415,000. This is 1.9% above the revised August estimate of 1,388,000 and is 11.1% above the September 2019 rate of 1,274,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 1,108,000; this is 8.5% above the revised August figure of 1,021,000.
- Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,553,000. This is 5.2% above the revised August rate of 1,476,000 and is 8.1% above the September 2019 rate of 1,437,000. Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 1,119,000; this is 7.8% above the revised August figure of 1,038,000.
- Total existing home sales increased 9.4% in September from the previous month, and sales were up 20.9% from a year ago. The median existing home price was $311.8 thousand, up 14.8% from September 2019. Total housing inventory at the end of September was 1.47 million, 19.2% below a year ago. This inventory was at a 2.7-month supply at the current sales rate, down from 4.0 month a year ago.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed average mortgage rates continued their downward trend. 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.80% for the week ending October 22, down from last week when it averaged 2.81%. A year ago, the 30-year rate was 3.75%. 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.33%, down from last week when it averaged 2.35%. A year ago, the 15-year rate was 3.18%.
- Mortgage applications decreased 0.6% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending October 16th.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 55 thousand to 787 thousand in the week ending October 17. The 4-week moving average was 811.25 thousand, a decrease of 21.5 thousand from the previous week’s revised average. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment (ongoing) during the week ending October 10 was 8,373 thousand, a decrease of 1,024 thousand from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 10,085.75 thousand, a decrease of 1,093.5 thousand from the previous week’s revised average. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.7% for the week ending October 10, a decrease of 0.7 percentage point from the previous week’s revised rate. It was stated that: “California has completed its pause in processing of initial claims and has resumed reporting actual unemployment insurance claims data based on their weekly claims activity. This News Release reflects actual counts for California for the current week and revisions to the two prior weeks.”
- Unemployment rates were lower in September in 30 states, higher in 8 states, and stable in 12 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. All 50 states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier. The national unemployment rate declined by 0.5 percentage point over the month to 7.9 percent but was 4.4 points higher than in September 2019. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 30 states, decreased in 3 states, and was essentially unchanged in 17 states and the District of Columbia in September 2020. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 48 states and the District of Columbia and was essentially unchanged in 2 states.
- There were 41,923,630 COVID-19 confirmed cases in the world, 1,140,010 deaths, and 28,418,225 recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University, Coronavirus Resource Center (access date and time: 10/23/2020, 13:00 EST). In the United States, there are 8,428,640 confirmed cases, 223,289 deaths, and 3,353,056 recovered cases. The world is struggling to control the spread of the virus.
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