Last year was a banner one for the mortgage business. Lenders originated a record $3.83 trillion in home loans in 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This year, total originations are expected to fall to $3.3 trillion, a 14.2% decline. Still, at that level, 2021 would rank among the best years on record.
Jobless Claims
Jobless claims fell below 500,000 last week for the first time during the pandemic as layoffs decline and hiring accelerates.
Trading Pits Close
The exchange operator CME Group Inc. said it would permanently close most of its open-outcry trading pits in Chicago, ending one of the world’s last vestiges of old-fashioned floor trading. Floor trading for agricultural commodities has existed in Chicago since the mid-19th century.
Recovery Pace
U.S. hotel revenue per available room for the week was 70% of what it was during the same week in 2019. RevPAR has been at or above 67% of 2019 levels for the past four weeks.
Stock Investors
Stockholdings among U.S. households increased to 41% of their total financial assets in April, the highest level on record dating back to 1952.
ETF Fund Flow
After 2020 saw US-domiciled ETFs gain $476 billion in net flows (inflows less outflows)—which broke the annual record of $470 billion set in 2017—they accumulated nearly $248 billion in Q1 this year.
Cruises
Cruise operators could restart sailings out of the U.S. by mid-July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, paving the way to resume operations that have been suspended for longer than a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consumer Confidence
The consumer confidence index increased to 121.7 in April from a revised 109.0 in March. Recent improvements led the index to a more than one-year high, with the indicator approaching the pre-pandemic level of 132.6 in February 2020.
Return to Malls
Foot traffic at a representative sample of 50 malls in March was up 86% from the same month last year. While that foot traffic was 24% lower than in March 2019, mall owners are hopeful that their business has turned a corner.
Median Rents
Median asking rent rose 1.1% on an annual basis in March to $1,463 a month across the country’s 50 largest markets. That marked the first month where the pace of rent growth had increased since last summer.