Eye On Housing
As described in a previous post, employment in the residential construction industry reached 2.68 million in January of this year. Although this is still well short of the 3.45 million at the peak of the boom in 2006, it nevertheless represents an increase of more than 700,000 jobs since the employment trough of the Great Recession in 2011. This raises… Read More ›
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector was below trend for the second consecutive month, as hiring has accelerated in the industry. 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) came in at 147,000 in January. The cycle high was 238,000 set in July of last… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted an increase in February, with a solid gain for single-family construction and ongoing elevated levels of multifamily development. Total starts were up 3%, rising to a 1.288 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Single-family starts recorded a monthly increase of 6.5% in February, rising to an 872,000 annual rate,… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped six points to a level of 71 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the highest reading since June 2005. While builders are clearly confident, we expect some moderation in the index moving forward. Builders continue to face a number of challenges, including… Read More ›
According to the Federal Reserve Board’s fourth quarter of 2016 release of its Financial Accounts of the United States report, household holdings of real estate, measured on a not seasonally adjusted basis, totaled $23.102 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2016, $1.535 trillion higher than its level in the fourth quarter of 2015. Home mortgage debt outstanding, $9.754 trillion in… Read More ›
On average, single-family builders use 10.2 different green products or practices, and 22 percent always or almost always have their homes certified to a green standard, according to a recent NAHB survey. The survey consisted of special questions on the January survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. A total of 337 single-family builders responded to these questions, one… Read More ›
The total amount of consumer credit outstanding rose in January 2017 reflecting growth in non-revolving credit, auto loans and student loans. Meanwhile, the outstanding amount of revolving credit, largely composed of credit cards, shrank. According to the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Credit release, the total outstanding amount of consumer credit climbed by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.8 percent in… Read More ›
Findings from the recently released Remodelers’ Cost of Doing Business Study: 2017 Edition show that the net profit margin for the typical residential remodeler increased to 5.3% in 2015, up from 3.0% in 2011. Combining all sources, remodelers reported an average $1.8 million in revenue for 2015, of which $1.3 million (71.1%) went to pay for cost of sales items… Read More ›
Results from a survey administered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicate that mortgage rates rose in January 2017*. Over the month, contract rates on mortgages used to purchase single-family newly constructed homes increased by 24 basis points to 4.02 percent. Although the monthly change reported by FHFA contrasted with a report by Freddie Mac, the results of the… Read More ›
The volume of residential construction loans increased by 1.8% during the fourth quarter of 2016, marking 15 consecutive quarters of growth. However, the growth rate at the end of the year was the smallest since the start of 2013. 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 residential construction… Read More ›