Eye On Housing
As interest rates declined during the second half of 2019, the stock of outstanding residential construction loans declined during the final quarter of 2019. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions declined 0.8%. The volume of loans fell by $615 million during the quarter, placing the total stock of loans at $79.7 billion. On a… Read More ›
Contracts for new, single-family home sales increased 7.9% in January to a 764,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The increase came off an upwardly revised December estimate, which was revised from an initial reading of 694,000 to a new estimate of 708,000. Year-over-year, the January estimate is 18.6%… Read More ›
An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. According to fourth quarter 2019 data, the average per unit square footage of multifamily housing construction starts was 1,074, off from the post-recession high set at the start of 2015 (1,247 square feet). The median was 1,053 square feet for… Read More ›
New single-family home size trended lower during the final quarter of 2019 as interest rates remained low and builders seek to add additional entry-level supply. According to fourth 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 2,252 square feet. Average (mean) square footage… Read More ›
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building expanded during the fourth quarter of 2019, supported by low mortgage interest rates. There were 44,000 total custom building starts during the fourth quarter of 2019. This marks a 16% gain over the final quarter of 2018 total of 38,000. Over the… Read More ›
In the fourth-quarter of 2019, builders and developers reported declining interest rates on all types of loans covered in NAHB’s quarterly survey on acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) financing (Exhibit 8). The average interest rate declined from 6.39 to 6.13 percent on loans for land acquisition, from 6.31 to 5.94 percent on loans for land development, from 5.99 to 5.63… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent (SFBFR) posted a year-over-year decline for the fourth quarter of 2019. The SFBFR market has received attention as a means to add single-family inventory amid concerns over housing affordability and downpayment requirements in the for-sale market. Single-family built-for-rent construction does differ in structure characteristics compared other newly-built single-family homes. According to NAHB’s analysis of… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted a 3.6 percent decline in January (1.57 million units) compared to an upwardly revised December estimate of 1.63 million units according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to January 2019 (during the housing soft patch), total starts are 21.4 percent above the annual pace of 1.29 million units. Single-family starts… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes edged one point lower to 74 in February, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The last three monthly readings mark the highest sentiment levels since December 2017. Steady job growth, rising wages and low interest rates are fueling housing demand in a market… Read More ›
Cost and availability of labor topped the list of problems builders faced in 2019, and is expected to return to the number one spot in 2020, according to special questions on the December survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The survey results showed that cost and availability of labor were a significant issue for 87% of builders last… Read More ›