Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Townhouse Construction Weaker
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction slowed during the second quarter of 2019 after a strong 2018 performance. This market softness matches recent data in the NAHB HBGI, which showed weak construction activity for large metro suburban markets at the start of 2019. Nonetheless, townhouse construction is… Read More ›
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Flat Conditions for Custom Home Building
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building was effectively flat over recent quarters. There were 49,000 total custom starts for the second quarter of 2019. This was down slightly compared to the second quarter of 2018 (50,000). Over the last four quarters, custom housing starts totaled 169,000. This was… Read More ›
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New Single-Family Home Size Continues Trending Lower
New single-family home size decreased during the second quarter of 2019 as interest rates declined. According to second quarter 2019 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area ticked down to 2,245 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes declined to 2,465 square feet. On… Read More ›
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Flat Conditions for Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent has held steady over the last year amidst declines for other forms of home construction. (You can read more here on how single-family built-for-rent homes differ from for-sale construction.) According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were 11,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for… Read More ›
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Single-Family Starts Continue Improvement in July
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, the pace of single-family construction continued to improve in July. After reaching a post-winter low annualized rate of 814,000 in April, single-family starts expanded to an 876,000 pace in July, a 1.3% gain over the revised June estimate. However, single-family starts remain 3.3% lower a on a… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Trending Higher as Interest Rates Move Lower
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 66 in August, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Sentiment levels have held at a solid 64-to-66 level for the past four months. Even as builders report a firm demand for single-family homes, they continue to struggle… Read More ›
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Lower Interest Rates: What They Mean for Housing and the Economy
Recent jolts to the economy stemming in part from an intensified trade war with China have worried markets and resulted in a significant decline in interest rates as investors have shifted from equity to bonds. Lower interest rates present an opportunity for the housing market, which has failed so far to respond energetically to this positive development due to prior… Read More ›
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Job Openings Slow, Still Higher Year-over-Year
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings declined in June, after a decline in May off a cycle high count for April. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector fell back to 347,000 in June after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The decline occurred with… Read More ›
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Federal Reserve Reduces Rates in July
Perhaps as the most telegraphed interest rate cut of recent decades, the Federal Reserve reduced the key, short-term federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a top rate of 2.25%. This policy change is good for housing and home building, which continue to face housing affordability headwinds in spite of favorable demographics. There were two dissents to the announcement,… Read More ›
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Housing Share of GDP Continues to Decline
With the release of the estimate of second quarter 2019 GDP growth (2.1% growth rate), housing’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) continued a downward trend, more evidence of the the lack of housing supply caused and affected by ongoing housing affordability issues. Housing’s share of GDP fell to 14.6%. The home building and remodeling component – residential fixed investment… Read More ›