Eye On Housing
As expected, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee, unanimously agreed to hold steady the federal funds top rate at 2.5%. The Fed’s January statement was consistent with recent policymakers’ comments suggesting a more flexible stance toward monetary policy at the end of last year and the start of 2019. In particular, the statement indicated that… Read More ›
Over the 40-year span from 1961 through 2000, housing starts averaged a little over 1.5 million a year, but they have been nowhere near that high since 2006. As a recent NAHB study explains, one outcome of this shortfall has been a tendency for older homes to remain in service longer. Attempts to improve the stock of housing in the U.S. (for example, through new… Read More ›
Household Debt and Credit reports, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, show that mortgage balances, which make up the majority of household debt, increased by $141 billion in the third quarter of 2018 from the previous quarter to reach an outstanding amount of $9.14 trillion. They also show that mortgage originations increased by about $8 billion from… Read More ›
Buoyed by falling mortgage rates, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose two points to 58 in January on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The gradual decline in mortgage rates in recent weeks helped to sustain builder sentiment. Low unemployment, solid job growth and favorable demographics should support housing demand in… Read More ›
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector decreased in November, as building activity declined with higher interest rates at the end of 2018. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs fell to 278,000 in November. The October estimate was revised up to a cycle… Read More ›
Over the first ten months of 2018, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 739,121. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 5.7% increase over the October 2017 level of 699,374. The preliminary results from the New Residential Construction Survey are exactly the same, year-to-date single-family permits over the first ten months of 2018 was, 738,800… Read More ›
The pace of single-family starts declined for the third consecutive month as housing affordability concerns continue to weigh on the home construction market. Total starts posted a 3.2% increase due to gains for multifamily development. Total single-family and apartment construction starts are up 5.1% on a year-to-date basis, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD…. Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell four points to 56 in December on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) as concerns over housing affordability persist. Although this is the lowest HMI reading since May 2015, builder sentiment remains in positive territory. Builders report that consumer demand exists, but customers are hesitating… Read More ›
The third quarter Federal Reserve Flow of Funds report showed continued improvement in the financial position of U.S. households with real estate, as the market value of all owner-occupied residential real estate (household owned) rose to $25.6 trillion. According to NAHB tabulations of the quarterly series, the asset or market value of owner-occupied real estate held by U.S. households increased… Read More ›
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), the custom home share declined to 20 percent of all single family homes started in 2017—lowest since mid-2000. Contractor-built or owner-built houses – that together make up the custom home market – are built one at a time for owner occupancy on owner’s land with either the owner or… Read More ›