Eye On Housing
Existing Sales Retreat 0.4% in May
Existing-home sales decreased 0.4% in May to a level 3.0% below a year ago, and sales have now decreased year-over-year for three consecutive months. The first-time buyer share of 31% was down from 33% last month and a year ago. The National Association of Realtors reported that 58% of homes sold last month were on the market less than a… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Housing Starts Reach Post-Recession High in May as Permits Soften
Total housing starts increased in May with gains in both the single-family and multifamily sectors. Starts increased 5% month-over-month to a 1.35 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. This pace is a post-recession high. The rate of single-family starts was 3.9% higher in May, reaching a 936,000 annual rate…. Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Slips Two Points as Lumber Prices Soar
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell two points to 68 in June on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The decline was due in large part to sharply elevated lumber prices, although sentiment remains on solid footing. Improved economic growth, continued job creation and solid housing demand should spur additional single-family… Read More ›
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Expiring Provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added numerous temporary provisions to the tax code. Temporary tax law can be difficult to track and compliance can be expensive. Earlier this year, the Joint Committee on Taxation released a guide to expiring tax provisions, sorted by year of expiration. The table below shows how many items in the tax code will… Read More ›
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Regulation: Over 30 Percent of the Cost of a Multifamily Development
Regulation imposed by all levels of government (whether local, state or federal) accounts for 32.1 percent of the cost of an average multifamily development, according to a new study conducted jointly by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). The study is based primarily on a survey of multifamily developers from both organizations. The results… Read More ›
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Softwood Lumber and OSB Lead Price Increases in May
The prices of building materials generally increased in May, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Softwood lumber (+6.4%) led the way, followed by oriented strand board (+4.7%, not seasonally adjusted). The indexes for ready-mix concrete (-0.1%) and gypsum products (-2.6%) both declined, but the aggregate index for goods inputs to residential… Read More ›
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Fed Raises Target Range, Communicates More Hikes in ’18 but Fewer in ‘20
As was widely expected, the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC), the monetary policy making arm of the Federal Reserve, raised the target federal funds rate to a range of 1.75 percent to 2.00 percent from a range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. Going forward, the median projection of the federal funds rate at the end of this year rose,… Read More ›
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Consumer Prices Rise
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer inflation rose by 0.2 percent in May, similar to its growth rate in April. Both food and energy prices decelerated over the month, but the slowdown in these items was offset by an acceleration in core CPI to 0.2 percent, from 0.1 percent in April. Over the year, headline inflation climbed… Read More ›
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Homeowners’ Equity Reaches a New High
Over the first quarter of 2018, the value of owners’ equity in real estate expended and hit a new high on a nominal and not seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Financial Accounts of the United States for the first quarter of 2018. This data is published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. On a nominal… Read More ›
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Highest Paid Occupations in Construction
According to the most recent release of the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $45,820. In comparison, the US median wage is below $37,700. The OES publishes wages for close to 380 occupations in construction. Out of these, only 54 are construction trades. The other industry… Read More ›