Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Builders Confident As Market Primed to Expand in 2018
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased five points to a level of 74 in December on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) after a downwardly revised November reading. This was the highest report since July 1999, over 18 years ago. Builder confidence has improved in 2017 on hopes of an improved regulatory environment… Read More ›
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Construction Job Openings Rise in October
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector increased in October. This increase occurred during a period of expansion for repair and remodeling work in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. 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) increased to 227,000 in October. This count is close… Read More ›
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Growth Rate for Residential Construction Loans Picks Up
The volume of residential construction loans increased by 2.4% during the third quarter of 2017, marking 18 consecutive quarters of growth. While the year-over-year growth rate has slowed, the uptick in the quarterly growth rate is good news for home building. Tight availability of acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans has been a limiting factor for home building growth, but easing credit conditions and a growing loan base have helped expand… Read More ›
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Multifamily Market Update
The market share of rental multifamily construction starts ticked back up to an elevated level of 95% in the third quarter, according to NAHB analysis of Census data. In contrast, the historical low share of 47% was set during the third quarter of 2005, during the condo building boom. The average share of 80% was recorded during the 1980-2002 period. There… Read More ›
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New Home Sales Reach Strongest Pace in a Decade
Contracts for new, single-family home sales expanded by 6.2% in October to a 685,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The strongest reading in a decade continues new home sales on a positive growth trend. The expansion is supported by ongoing job growth and improving household formations, as well as tight existing home inventory. Despite some volatility in the month-to-month sales figures, October marks the sixth… Read More ›
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Single-Family Built-for-Rent Starts: Third Quarter 2017
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased in the third quarter. Over the last four quarters, total production of this type of housing was 32,000 homes, compared to 33,000 during the four quarters prior. However, there were 10,000 starts in the third quarter alone. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis,… Read More ›
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Slight Gains for Custom Home Building
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates ongoing expansion of the volume of custom home building but slight declines in terms of overall market share. Over the last four quarter period, ending with the third quarter of 2017, there were 173,000 total custom single-family home starts, an increase of more than… Read More ›
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Townhouse Construction Growth Continues
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction starts continue to post gains. Over the last four quarters ending with the third quarter of 2017, townhouse starts totaled 98,000, 4% higher than the four quarters prior. Townhouses, or single-family attached housing, represented 26,000 starts during the third quarter of 2017,… Read More ›
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Declining New Home Size Trend Continues
After increasing and leveling off in recent years, new single-family home size continued along a general trend of decreasing size during the third quarter of 2017. This change marks a reversal of the trend that had been in place as builders focused on the higher end of the market during the recovery. As the entry-level market expands, NAHB expects typical new home size… Read More ›
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Housing Starts Rise in October
Total housing starts increased in October, with solid readings from the single-family sector. Total starts increased 13.7% to a 1.29 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. A jump in multifamily construction also increased the headline rate. Single-family starts increased for the month, rising to an 877,000 seasonally adjusted rate in… Read More ›