by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2019 10:24:00 AM

From the Chicago PMI: Chicago Business Barometer™ – Softens to 44.4 in July

The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI, eased further to 44.4 in July from 49.7 last month, the second sub-50 reading in 30 months.

The weakness in the Barometer observed in Q2 continued into the current quarter, with the latest outturn making it the weakest start to Q3 since 2009.
...
This month’s special question asked firms about their views on the US economy’s growth in the second half of the year. Two in five firms expected the economy to see slower growth than currently, with some holding tariffs responsible for the slowdown. The majority, at 46%, did not expect any change while only 14% expected the economy pick up.

“Sentiment faded further with firms facing weakness across the board. Global risks, trade tensions, slowdown in demand and sombre growth expectations, all jeopardize business conditions. Firms are not panicking yet, but the latest report isn’t adding to the cheer. The above risks lend weight to a monetary easing approach by the Fed, albeit a gradual one,” said Shaily Mittal, Senior Economist at MNI.
emphasis added

by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2019 08:19:00 AM

From ADP:

Private sector employment increased by 156,000 jobs from June to July according to the July ADP National Employment Report®. ... The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
...
“While we still see strength in the labor market, it has shown signs of weakening,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “A moderation in growth is expected as the labor market tightens further.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Job growth is healthy, but steadily slowing. Small businesses are suffering the brunt of the slowdown. Hampering job growth are labor shortages, layoffs at bricks-and-mortar retailers, and fallout from weaker global trade.”

This was at the consensus forecast for 155,000 private sector jobs added in the ADP report.

The BLS report will be released Friday, and the consensus is for 156,000 non-farm payroll jobs added in July.

by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2019 07:00:00 AM

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications decreased 1.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 26, 2019.

... The Refinance Index increased 0.1 percent from the previous week and was 84 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 6 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
...
“Mortgage applications were lower last week, driven by a 3 percent decrease in purchase applications. While purchase activity was still up 6 percent from a year ago, the index has now decreased for three straight weeks and reached its lowest point since March. Despite healthy demand, inadequate supply levels continue to hold back some would-be buyers,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Rate movements were mixed, with the 30-year fixed rate remaining unchanged (at 4.08 percent), but the FHA rate decreasing to its lowest level since 2017 to 3.94 percent.”

Added Kan, “Refinance applications were essentially flat, but the components told different stories. Conventional refinances were up 1.1 percent, but government refinances were down almost 3 percent – led by a drop in VA applications.”
...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) remained unchanged at 4.08 percent, with points increasing to 0.34 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.


The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990.

Mortgage rates have declined from close to 5% late last year to around 4% now.

Just about anyone who bought or refinanced over the last year or so can refinance now.   But it would take another significant decline in rates for a further large increase in refinance activity.

The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index

According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 6% year-over-year.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 09:22:00 PM

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 8:15 AM, The ADP Employment Report for July. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 155,000 payroll jobs added in July, up from 102,000 added in June.

• At 9:45 AM, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for July.

• At 2:00 PM, FOMC Meeting Announcement. The Fed is expected to announce a 25bps cut to the Fed Funds rate at this meeting.

• At 2:30 PM, Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a press briefing following the FOMC announcement.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 02:30:00 PM

Note: Back in early 2016, I noted that energy expenditures as a percentage of PCE had hit an all time low. Here is an update through the June 2019 PCE report released this morning.

Below is a graph of expenditures on energy goods and services as a percent of total personal consumption expenditures through June 2019.

This is one of the measures that Professor Hamilton at Econbrowser looks at to evaluate any drag on GDP from energy prices.


Click on graph for larger image.

Data source: BEA Table 2.3.5U.

The huge spikes in energy prices during the oil crisis of 1973 and 1979 are obvious. As is the increase in energy prices during the 2001 through 2008 period.

In June 2019, energy expenditures as a percentage of PCE increased to 3.91% of PCE, up from the all time low of 3.65% in February 2016.

Energy as a percent of GDP has been generally trending down, and historically this is a low percentage of PCE for energy expenditures.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 12:16:00 PM

CR Note: This is a repeat of earlier posts with updated graphs.

A few key points:
1) There is a clear seasonal pattern for house prices.
2) The surge in distressed sales during the housing bust distorted the seasonal pattern.
3) Even though distressed sales are down significantly, the seasonal factor is based on several years of data - and the factor is now overstating the seasonal change (second graph below).
4) Still the seasonal index is probably a better indicator of actual price movements than the Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) index.

For in depth description of these issues, see former Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko's article "Let’s Improve, Not Ignore, Seasonal Adjustment of Housing Data"

Note: I was one of several people to question the change in the seasonal factor (here is a post in 2009) - and this led to S&P Case-Shiller questioning the seasonal factor too (from April 2010).  I still use the seasonal factor (I think it is better than using the NSA data).

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the month-to-month change in the NSA Case-Shiller National index since 1987 (through May 2019).   The seasonal pattern was smaller back in the '90s and early '00s, and increased once the bubble burst.

The seasonal swings have declined since the bubble.

The second graph shows the seasonal factors for the Case-Shiller National index since 1987. The factors started to change near the peak of the bubble, and really increased during the bust.

The swings in the seasonal factors has started to decrease, and I expect that over the next several years - as recent history is included in the factors - the seasonal factors will move back towards more normal levels.

However, as Kolko noted, there will be a lag with the seasonal factor since it is based on several years of recent data.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 10:04:00 AM

From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Climb 2.8% in June

Pending home sales continued to ascend in June, marking two consecutive months of growth, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Each of the four major regions recorded a rise in contract activity, with the West experiencing the highest surge.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, moved up 2.8% to 108.3 in June, up from 105.4 in May. Year-over-year contract signings jumped 1.6%, snapping a 17-month streak of annual decreases.
...
All regional indices are up from May and from one year ago. The PHSI in the Northeast rose 2.7% to 94.5 in June and is now 0.9% higher than a year ago. In the Midwest, the index grew 3.3% to 103.6 in June, 1.7% greater than June 2018.

Pending home sales in the South increased 1.3% to an index of 125.7 in June, which is 1.4% higher than last June. The index in the West soared 5.4% in June to 96.8 and increased 2.5% above a year ago.
emphasis added

This was well above expectations of a 0.3% increase for this index. Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in July and August.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 09:10:00 AM

S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for May ("May" is a 3 month average of March, April and May prices).

This release includes prices for 20 individual cities, two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities) and the monthly National index.

Note: Case-Shiller reports Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA), I use the SA data for the graphs.

From S&P: Annual Home Price Gains Dip to 3.4% According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 3.4% annual gain in May, down from 3.5% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 2.2%, down from 2.3% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 2.4% year-over-year gain, down from 2.5% in the previous month.

Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. In May, Las Vegas led the way with a 6.4% year-over-year price increase, followed by Phoenix with a 5.7% increase, and Tampa with a 5.1% increase. Seven of the 20 cities reported greater price increases in the year ending May 2019 versus the year ending April 2019.
...
Before seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 0.8% in May. The 10-City Composite posted a 0.5% increase and the 20-City Composite reported a 0.6% increase for the month. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.2% month-over-month increase in May. The 10-City and the 20-City Composites both reported a 0.1% increase. In May, 19 of 20 cities reported increases before seasonal adjustment, while 13 of 20 cities reported increases after seasonal adjustment.

“Nationally, year-over-year home price gains were lower in May than in April, but not dramatically so and a broad-based moderation continued,” says Philip Murphy, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Among 20 major U.S. city home price indices, the average YOY gain has been declining for the past year or so and now stands at the moderate nominal YOY rate of 3.1%.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the nominal seasonally adjusted Composite 10, Composite 20 and National indices (the Composite 20 was started in January 2000).

The Composite 10 index is up 1.1% from the bubble peak, and up 0.1% in May (SA).

The Composite 20 index is 4.5% above the bubble peak, and up 0.1% (SA) in May.

The National index is 13.2% above the bubble peak (SA), and up 0.3% (SA) in May.  The National index is up 53.0% from the post-bubble low set in December 2011 (SA).

The second graph shows the Year over year change in all three indices.

The Composite 10 SA is up 2.2% compared to May 2018.  The Composite 20 SA is up 2.4% year-over-year.

The National index SA is up 3.4% year-over-year.

Note: According to the data, prices increased in 14 of 20 cities month-over-month seasonally adjusted.

I'll have more later.

by Calculated Risk on 7/30/2019 08:40:00 AM

The BEA released the Personal Income and Outlays report for June:

Personal income increased $83.6 billion (0.4 percent) in June according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $69.7 billion (0.4 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $41.0 billion (0.3 percent).

Real DPI increased 0.3 percent in June and Real PCE increased 0.2 percent. The PCE price index increased 0.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2 percent.

The June PCE price index increased 1.4 percent year-over-year and the June PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased 1.6 percent year-over-year.

The following graph shows real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) through June 2019 (2012 dollars). Note that the y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed red lines are the quarterly levels for real PCE.

The increase in personal income was above expectations, and the increase in PCE was at expectations.

PCE growth was solid in Q2, and inflation was below the Fed's target.

by Calculated Risk on 7/29/2019 07:23:00 PM

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Start Slow, But Risks Increase Throughout The Week

Mortgage rates moved back down, albeit just slightly, into last week's range. … Bigger changes will require bigger swings in the underlying bond market. The potential for such changes increases exponentially throughout the week as a slew of important data and events hit the wires. Headliners include Wednesday's Fed rate decision and Friday's big jobs report. [Most Prevalent Rates 30YR FIXED - 3.875%]
emphasis added

Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays, June 2019. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in personal income, and for a 0.3% increase in personal spending. And for the Core PCE price index to increase 0.2%.

• At 9:00 AM, S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index for May. The consensus is for a 2.6% year-over-year increase in the Comp 20 index for May.

• At 10:00 AM, Pending Home Sales Index for June. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in the index.