The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume based on the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) weekly survey, rose 14.0% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, driven primarily by a surge in refinancing activity. Year-over-year, the index is up 29.2% compared to March 2024. The Purchase Index rebounded 8.3% (SA) from the previous…

The U.S. job market unexpectedly accelerated in March, while the figures for January and February were revised downward substantially. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2% in March, from 4.1% the previous month. This month’s jobs report highlights the continued resilience of the labor market despite sticky inflation, a drop in consumer confidence, mass…

INDIANAPOLIS (April 1, 2025) – Indiana continues to lead the Midwest in single-family home construction, with the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing 1,399 single-family building permits were issued statewide in February 2025. This total surpasses neighboring states Ohio (1,152), Michigan (910), Illinois (635), and Kentucky (628). While Indiana’s 1,399 starts mark a 4% decrease from the 1,458 permits issued in the state in February 2024, it is a 3% increase from the 1,353 permits pulled in January…

Manufactured homes play a measurable role in the U.S. housing market by providing an affordable supply option for millions of households. According to the American Housing Survey (AHS), there are 7.2 million occupied manufactured homes in the U.S., representing 5.4% of total occupied housing and a source of affordable housing, in particular, for rural and…

Private residential construction spending increased by 1.3% in February, rebounding from a 1.2% dip in January. The growth was largely driven by higher spending on single-family construction and residential improvements. On a year-over-year basis, the February report showed a 1.6% gain, indicating a modest growth in private residential construction spending during market uncertainties.  The monthly…

After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs remained lower than a year ago, per the February Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The number of open jobs for the overall economy declined from 7.76 million…