Eye On Housing
Curb-less Showers Now Among the Most Common Aging-In-Place Projects
Last week’s post covered general issues related to Aging-In-Place (such as how many professional remodelers do it, and how many of their customers are receptive to it), using data from NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the 4th quarter of 2018. This post covers some of the more detailed questions from the same survey, including specific types of Aging-in-Place projects undertaken… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Declines for Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent declined at the start of 2019. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were 5,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the first quarter of 2019. This is lower than the 6,000 estimated for the start of 2018. Over the last four quarters, 42,000 such homes began construction…. Read More ›
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Townhouse Construction Slows at Start of 2019
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction slowed during the first quarter of 2019 after a strong 2018 performance. Nonetheless, townhouse construction is set for further expansion given the demographics of renters entering the for-sale market, as well as ongoing land constraints and the growth of demand for… Read More ›
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Starts Gain Ground But Permit Weakness Continues
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family and multifamily starts improved in April, consistent with the recent stabilization of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Single-family starts increased 6.2% to an 854,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in April. Total multifamily starts increased 4.7% to a 381,000 annualized rate. On a year-to-date basis,… Read More ›
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“Seriously Delinquent” Loans Decline
The quarterly National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows a decline in the serious delinquency rate across all the categories of loans, continuing the downward trend that has persisted since the middle of the Great Recession. These categories of loans are Conventional loans, VA loans, and FHA-insured loans, for which the serious delinquency rates as of March 2019… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Posts Solid Gain in May
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose three points to 66 in May, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builder sentiment is at its highest level since October 2018 after declines in late 2018 due to higher interest rates and concerns over slower growth. Builders are catching up after… Read More ›
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Spending on Residential Improvements Edges Down in March
The most recent data from Construction Spending showed that spending on residential improvements fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $173 billion in March 2019, down by 3.1% over February estimate, and was 14.1% lower than a year ago. Residential Improvement Spending has experienced weakness after reaching the peak of $216.7 billion in April 2018. The recent downward trend… Read More ›
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Single-Family Permit Weakness at Start of 2019
Over the first three months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 185,336. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 7.3% decline over the March 2018 level of 199,861. Year-to-date ending in March, single-family permits reported growth only in the Northeast region of the country. The South, Midwest, and the West regions declined by… Read More ›
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13% of Adults Are Planning a Home Purchase in the Next 12 Months
In the first quarter of 2019, 13% of adults reported plans to purchase a home within a year. That is just slightly below where the share stood a year earlier, at 17%. The decline marks the second consecutive year-over-year drop in the share of adults planning to buy a home, providing further evidence that the deterioration in affordability is having… Read More ›
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Lending Conditions Tighten (But Less than Expected)
The recently released results of the Federal Reserve Board’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) show some tightening of lending conditions in the first quarter of 2019. While many banks reported that their standards in approving applications for credit cards from individuals or households tightened somewhat, overall, the tightening was not as much as they had anticipated, when they… Read More ›