Eye On Housing
Existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased 5.1% in March, rebounding from the 7.1% tumble in February but showing no signs of increased activity among first-time buyers. The first-time buyer share of 30% in March remained unchanged from last month as well as March 2015. Total existing home sales in March increased to a… Read More ›
The Pending Home Sales Index increased 3.5% in February to the highest level in seven months, and has increased year-over-year for 18 consecutive months. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased to 109.1 in February from a downwardly revised 105.4 in January, and was 0.7%… Read More ›
The Pending Home Sales Index declined 2.5% in January, but has increased year-over-year for 17 consecutive months. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), decreased 2.5% in January to 106.0 from an upwardly revised 108.7 December, and was 1.4% above the same month a year ago…. Read More ›
Existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased 0.4% in January to the highest level since July, and are up 11.0% from last January. The first-time buyer share for 2015 averaged 30%, up from 29% in 2014 and 2013. Total existing home sales in January increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.47 million units… Read More ›
The Pending Home Sales Index was virtually unchanged in December, but has increased year-over-year for 16 consecutive months. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased 0.1% in December to 106.8 from a downwardly revised 106.7 November, and was 4.2% above the same month a year… Read More ›
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 58 in the final quarter of 2015, one point above the previous quarter. This was consistent with similar results over the past year and a half, indicating sustained confidence in the market from remodelers. The RMI and all its components lie on a scale of… Read More ›
The most recent release of Census’ Construction Spending report included significant revisions to the residential improvements spending category. Residential improvements spending is calculated as the amount of total private residential spending on owner-occupied units after accounting for single-family and multifamily expenditures. As discussed in an earlier post, with these changes, the total amount of spending on residential improvements more closely… Read More ›
For the third time in four months, the Pending Home Sales Index decreased in November, but has increased year-over-year for 15 consecutive months. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), decreased 0.9% in November to 106.9 from an upwardly revised 107.9 in October, but remained 2.7%… Read More ›
Existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), decreased 10.5% in November to the lowest level since April 2014, a decline NAR attributed to the implementation of The Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The new rule was designed to help consumers understand their loan options and avoid… Read More ›
NAHB has released estimates of spending on improvements to owner-occupied housing by zip code. The estimates are based on a model relating improvement spending to five key variables (number of homes in the area, the share built in 1960s, share built in the 1970s, owners’ average income and level of education) for calendar year 2015. The estimates show total spending on improvements,… Read More ›