8/4: MetroIntelligence Economic Update by P. DUFFY
MetroIntelligence Economic Update by P. DUFFY
June construction spending dips 0.7 percent from May but up 0.1 percent year-on-year
Construction spending during June 2020 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,355.2
billion, down 0.7 percent from May but up a slight 0.1 percent year-on-year. During the first six months of
this year, construction spending amounted to $667.9 billion, up 5.0 percent for the same period in 2019.
https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf
July manufacturing sector index rises 1.6 points to 54.2 percent as expansion continues
The July PMI® registered 54.2 percent, up 1.6 percentage points from the June reading of 52.6 percent. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the third month in a row after a contraction in April, which ended a period of 131 consecutive months of growth. However, comments from the panel reveal a high level of continued uncertainty.
https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/pmi/july/
Consumer sentiment slips 7.2 percent to 72.5 in late July
Consumer sentiment sank further in late July due to the continued resurgence of the coronavirus, falling 7.2 percent to 72.5. In the last four months, the Sentiment Index has remained trendless, averaging 73.7, a decline of 25 percent from the same period in 2019. The Expectations Index fell back to 65.9 in July, tied with the six-year low recorded in May, providing no indication that consumers expect the recession to end anytime soon.
Inflation tracker PCE Price Index up 0.4% in June and 0.8% year-on-year
The inflation tracking PCE Price Index rose 0.4 percent in June, due largely to higher energy prices. The ‘core’ index (minus food and energy costs) rose 0.2 percent in June, matching May’s increase after two months of declines. Year-on-year, the index rose 0.8 percent, up from 0.5 percent in May. However, the ‘core’ index rose 0.9 percent year-on-year, down from 1.0 percent in May and less than half the rate of 1.9 percent in February.
https://www.bea.gov/news/2020/personal-income-and-outlays-june-2020-and-annual-update
45% of recent homebuyers made offers without seeing it first
Almost half (45 percent) of people who bought a home in the past year made an offer on a property that they hadn’t seen in person, the highest share since at least 2015, according to a Redfin-commissioned survey in May and June of more than 1,400 people across 29 major markets. That’s up from just 28 percent during the same period last year, and 20 percent in July 2015, when we posed this question for the first time.
https://www.redfin.com/blog/buying-house-sight-unseen-increases/