There is actually some positive economic news to be found during our ongoing health crisis.

First, new home sales rose 0.6% in April with builders claiming that business was strong. The Wells Fargo Economics Group stated, "the rise in new home sales is one of the only positive measures of economic activity in April."
Regionally, home sales in the South and Midwest increased 2.4% but fell 6.3% in the West.

 
However, Jonathan Lansner of the Orange County Register reported that applications for purchases in California have grown for seven consecutive weeks, topped off by an 11.6% jump for the week of May 16-22. Compared to last year's pace for loan applications in the state, the total is down just 1.7%.

"While this metric shows April's dour homebuying market was revived in May, it's unclear if this upswing is simply delayed activity back on pace or some bigger purchasing push," Lanser stated.

On the negative economic news side, demand for U.S. design services in April "saw its steepest decline on record," according to The American Institute of Architects, whose Architecture Billings Index score tallied 29.5. New project inquiries came in at 28.4, and design contracts hit 27.6 (any number below 50 indicates a decrease in billings).

Regional averages varied from 38.1 for Western states to a low of 23 for the Northeast. Billings for commercial and industrial projects declined the most, followed by mixed practice, multifamily residential and institutional.

Construction Dive commented that Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu also expects that activity for U.S. commercial builders will continue to decline.

"Construction activity tends to lag the broader economy by 12 to 18 months, so that weakness will eventually catch up with the construction sector," he said.

ABC's latest Construction Backlog Indicator fell 7.7% to 8.2 months. And their most recent Construction Confidence Index dipped under 50 for the first time in the history of the series.