Eye On Housing
Contracts for new home sales expanded by 2.9% in May to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to estimates from the joint data release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The report also noted a strong upward revision for the April rate of sales, increasing from a 569,000 annual pace to 593,000. The growth in sales continues along a positive trend for the… Read More ›
Total housing starts declined in May after a few, strong early months to begin 2017. Total starts were down 5.5%, falling to a 1.092 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Declines were recorded for both single-family and multifamily development. Single-family starts fell back, declining to a 794,000 annual rate. The February… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes weakened slightly in June, down two points to a level of 67 from a downwardly revised May reading of 69 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builder confidence levels have remained consistently sound this year, reflecting the ongoing gradual recovery of the housing market. As… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $522.2 billion in April, 0.7% lower than upwardly revised March estimates. The private residential construction spending slowed down after a strong start this year. However, it was still 16.7% higher than a year ago. The monthly declines… Read More ›
The volume of residential construction loans increased by 1.6% during the first quarter of 2017, marking 16 consecutive quarters of growth. However, the growth rate for lending during the fourth quarter of 2016 and the start of 2017 were the slowest since early 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… Read More ›
Contracts for new single-family home sales fell more than expected in April, declining 11.4% to a 569,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint data release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The decline occurred after solid, positive revisions for new home sales for the first three months of the year. All told, total new home sales for 2017 stand at 210,000, a 11.3%… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent fell slightly at the start of 2017, falling to 6,000 for the quarter. Over the last four quarters, total production of this type of housing was 33,000 homes. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, the market share of single-family homes built-for-rent, as measured on… Read More ›
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a slowing of the growth rate for the custom home building market. Over the last four quarter period, ending with the first quarter of 2017, there were 168,000 total custom single-family home starts, an increase of almost 2% over the previous four quarters. Custom… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction starts continued to grow on a year-over-year basis, although that growth rate has slowed recently. Over the four quarter period ending with the first quarter of 2017, townhouse starts totaled 98,000, a more than 4% gain over the prior year total…. Read More ›
After increasing and leveling off in recent years, new single-family home size continued along a general trend of decreasing size during the start of 2017. This change marks a reversal of the trend that had been in place as builders focused on the higher end of the market during the recovery. As the entry-level market expands, including growth for townhouses, typical… Read More ›