Eye On Housing
Existing-home sales decreased 0.7% in July to a level 1.5% below a year ago, and sales have now decreased year-over-year for four straight months. The first-time buyer share of 32% was up from last month, but down from 33% a year ago. The National Association of Realtors reported that 55% of homes sold in July were on the market less… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased over the last four quarters. During this time period, construction starts of this type of housing totaled 42,000 homes, compared to 29,000 for the prior four quarters. There were 13,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the second quarter of 2018. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB… Read More ›
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building remain flat. There were 50,000 total custom starts for the second quarter of 2018. This was effectively unchanged relative to the second quarter of 2017. Over the last four quarters, ending with the second quarter of 2018, custom housing starts totaled 172,000…. Read More ›
Continuing a multiyear trend, new single-family home size decreased during the second quarter of 2018. New home size has been falling over the last two years due to an incremental move to additional entry-level home construction. According to second quarter 2018 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area decreased to 2,344 square… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction posted significant gains during the second quarter of 2018. 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 walkable neighborhoods. Over the… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted a slight increase in July as markets face headwinds in the form of rising construction costs and growing affordability concerns. Total housing starts increased 0.9% in July and are 6.2% higher for 2018 on a year-to-date basis, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. The pace of single-family starts was roughly… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes edged down one point to a solid 67 reading in August on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builders continue to report strong demand for new housing, fueled by steady job and income growth along with rising household formations. However, they are increasingly focused on growing affordability… Read More ›
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector increased in June, reaching a post-Great Recession high level. The rate of open construction sector jobs also matched a prior cyclical high. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs increased to 263,000 in June. The prior post-recession high count… Read More ›
Over the first six months of 2018, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 444,600. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 6.3% increase over the June 2017 level of 418,128. The preliminary results from the New Residential Construction release are similar, year-to-date single-family permits over the first six months of 2018 was, 444,700 which is 6.6%… Read More ›
Following the June increase in existing inventory, the Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.9% in May, but remains 2.5 % below the level one year ago. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The PHSI increased to 106.9 in June from 105.9 in May. The… Read More ›