Eye On Housing
Job growth slowed and the unemployment rate ticked up but it’s still a decent report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Employment Situation report for July. The establishment survey showed payroll employment expanded by 209 thousand. The May and June figures were revised upward by a total of 15 thousand, bringing them to 229 thousand and 298 thousand,… Read More ›
Despite two consecutive monthly declines, the value of construction spending remains higher than levels recorded a year ago. For the month of June, Census data indicate that the total value of private residential construction spending (put-in-place) declined 0.3% from May to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $356 billion. Single-family spending was down in June by 1.4%, to a $184 billion rate…. Read More ›
NAHB Economics recently released its 2014 Priced Out Estimates showing that, nationally, a $1,000 increase in the median new home price (triggered, for example, by additional regulation) prices 206,269 households out of the market for the home. This means that 206,269 U.S. households could qualify for a mortgage on the median-priced new home before, but not after, the price increase…. Read More ›
Earlier today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a slight (4 basis point) decline in mortgage interest rates for the month of June. However, the decline was driven entirely by loans on existing homes. The average interest rate on conventional mortgages used to purchase newly built homes moved in the opposite direction, and the increase was fairly strong. The contract… Read More ›
Using a sample of Fannie Mae loans, a recent academic study finds evidence that owners of apartment buildings with certain sustainability features are less likely to default on their mortgages. The article produces a number of other results that also may be of interest. The article was authored by Gary Pivo, of the University of Arizona, and published in the… Read More ›
An almost audible sigh of relief is conveyed in the statement that followed the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as the committee upgraded its assessment of the economy and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of economic activity for the April to June quarter, including 4.0% growth in GDP. The BEA reported that real… Read More ›
The seasonally adjusted national homeownership rate fell to 64.8% during the second quarter of 2014. This marks a drop of 4.6 percentage points since the peak rate of 69.4% during the second quarter of 2004, according to the Census Bureau’s quarterly survey. The homeownership rate declined by 0.3 percentage points year-over-year. The current rate is also below the 20-year historical… Read More ›
Pending home sales fell 1.1% in June, breaking a three month streak of improvement after a dismal winter. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), decreased 1.1% in June to 102.7 from a downwardly revised May level of 103.8. The June reading was down 7.3% on… Read More ›
The share of new single-family home sales purchased with cash rose during the second quarter of 2014, reaching 8.4% of sales. The onset of the housing crisis in 2007 led to a decline in the share of new home sales due to conventional mortgage financing and increases in the shares due to mortgages backed by the FHA and the Department of Veteran’s… Read More ›
NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) rose three points to 56 in the second quarter of 2014; essentially reclaiming the territory it had lost during what was likely a weather-related dip in the first three months of the year.The RMI is based on a quarterly survey of NAHB remodelers, and is an average of separate indices for remodelers’ ratings of current… Read More ›