Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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New Home Sales: Solid August Follows Hot July
Sales of newly-built, single-family homes fell 7.6% on a monthly basis in August to a 609,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the Census Bureau and HUD. However, the monthly change masks the fact that the August pace of new home sales was the second strongest since the end of the Great Recession. New home sales for August… Read More ›
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Housing Starts Pause in August
Single-family and multifamily housing starts posted declines in August after several months of gains. August single-family starts were down 6% from the July pace, falling back to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 722,000. However, on a year-to-date basis, single-family construction is continuing at a rate that is 9% higher than this time in 2015. Part of the August decline… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Surges in September
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes in September jumped six points to 65 from a downwardly revised August reading of 59 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This marks the highest HMI level since October 2015. With the inventory of new and existing homes remaining tight, builders are confident of positive market conditions… Read More ›
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Friday Poll: Labor or Lots
Housing demand is in relatively solid shape, with a healthy labor market and low mortgage interest rates. However, lack of labor and lots are limiting the amount of new construction that can be added to inventory. In our first reader poll, tell us what you see in terms of supply-side headwinds. We’ll report the results next week.
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Job Openings and Hiring Increase in Construction
The count of unfilled jobs in the overall construction sector rose in July, nearing the post-Great Recession high set in March. Residential construction hiring has also increased, after a period of soft gains in jobs. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs (on a seasonally adjusted basis) rose to 214,000 in July, after establishing a… Read More ›
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More Growth for AD&C Lending
The volume of residential construction loans expanded 3.2% during the second quarter of 2016, marking 13 consecutive quarters of growth. Tight availability of acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans is a limiting factor on home building growth, but easing credit conditions and a growing loan base will help expand residential construction in a thin inventory environment. According to data from the FDIC and NAHB analysis,… Read More ›
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New Home Sales Heat Up in July
July new home sales recorded the strongest monthly pace since October 2007, growing to a 654,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. According to estimates from the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, the elevated July rate marked a 12.4% gain over downwardly revised, but still strong, estimates for June. On a year-to-date basis, new home sales have improved… Read More ›
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New Multifamily Rental Share Remains Strong
An elevated market share for new rental multifamily homes is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-recession period. However, as multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. The recent pattern of change in the size of new multifamily units stands in contrast to the post-recession increase in the size… Read More ›
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Jump in Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent has posted solid gains over the last year. However, the built-for-rent market is a small portion of the total single-family development, so care must be taken when identifying trends. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, the market share of single-family homes built-for-rent, as measured on a… Read More ›
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Custom Home Building Steady
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates that the number of custom home building starts (homes built on an owner’s land, with either the owner or a builder acting as the general contractor) posted a slight increase on a year-over year basis as of the second quarter of 2016. There were 47,000 total custom… Read More ›