Eye On Housing
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family starts improved in June, consistent with the recent stabilization of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Single-family starts increased 3.5% to a 847,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in June. However, total housing starts were down approximately 1% (1.253 million annual rate) due to a decline… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 65 in July, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This marks the sixth consecutive month that sentiment levels have held at a steady range in the low- to mid-60s. Builders report solid demand for single-family homes. However, they continue… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings declined in May off a cycle high count in April. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector fell back to 369,000 after reaching a post-Great Recession high of 434,000 in April. The decline occurred with a somewhat elevated level of layoffs in… Read More ›
Although produced by NAHB’s Economists, Eye on Housing is intended for a fairly broad readership with an interest in housing, but not necessarily in the academic research published by technical journals. Nevertheless, many EoH readers will want to know about a relatively recent technical paper published in Housing Policy Debate. The paper is called The What, Where, and When of… Read More ›
Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined to a 626,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in May according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. This was a surprising drop due to recent softening of mortgage interest rates and continued low unemployment. Recent months’ data have been relatively positive, with the revised March pace of 705,000… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted a 0.9 percent decrease in May (1.269 million units) compared to an upwardly revised April estimate of 1.281 million units, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to May 2018, total starts are 4.7 percent below the annual pace of 1.332 million units. Single-family production in May posted a monthly… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell two points to 64 in June, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Sentiment levels have held at a solid range in the low- to mid-60s for the past five months. While demand for single-family homes remains sound, builders continue to report rising… Read More ›
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in April, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 404,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 258,000 openings estimated in April… Read More ›
Well over 40 percent of builders continue to use aerial drones, according to special questions on the March 2019 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The first of these questions asks the single-family builders in the HMI panel if they have ever used drones in their businesses, including any cases where they may have hired third parties… Read More ›
Housing markets in the Midwest have experienced weakness in recent quarters. For example, single-family permits posted a 3.6% decline in year-to-date data when comparing December 2018 level with December 2017 in the Midwest. Single-family permitting for the first four months of 2019 are down 11.3% in the Midwest when compared to the opening months of 2018. As of April, new… Read More ›