Eye On Housing
Contracts for new, single-family home sales inched down 0.7% in September to a 701,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The decline came off a downwardly revised August estimate, which was decreased from an initial reading of 713,000 to a new estimate of 706,000. Year-over-year, the September estimate is… Read More ›
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family starts edged up in September, consistent with recent gains for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). However, the headline measure of total housing starts was down 9.4% for the month due to a large decline in the volatile multifamily sector. Single-family starts increased 0.3% to… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose three points to 71 in October, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Sentiment levels are at their highest point since February 2018 and have risen 13 points since the start of 2019. The housing rebound that began in the spring continues, supported… Read More ›
Over the first eight months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 576,798. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 3.7% decline over the August 2018 level of 599,117. Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits reported declines in three out of the four regions. Northeast was the only region to post a growth… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), nationally, there were 881,076 new single-family units started in 2018, 4% higher than the units started in 2017. It was the double of the units started in 2011, and still 49% less than the peak of 2007 (1,731,171 units). Among all the nine Census divisions, new single-family units started in… Read More ›
Contracts for new, single-family home sales increased in August by 7.1% to a 713,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The increase came off a upwardly revised July estimate, which was increased from an initial reading of 635,000 to a new estimate of 666,000. Year-over-year, the August estimate is 18.0% higher. Sales continue… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted a 12.3 percent increase in August (1.364 million units) compared to an upwardly revised July estimate of 1.215 million units, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to August 2018, total starts are 6.6 percent above the annual pace of 1.279 million units. Single-family production in August posted a monthly… Read More ›
Over the first seven months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 496,726. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 4.7% decline over the July 2018 level of 521,438. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits reported declines in all four regions. The Midwest, Northeast, South, and the West declined by 8.7%, 1.6%, 2.8%,… Read More ›
Despite broader interest rate declines for government bonds and mortgages, NAHB industry survey data for the second quarter of 2019 indicates that interest rates for acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) remain stubbornly elevated. For example, loans for spec single-family home building averaged a 6.2% rate for the second quarter. These higher interest rates have caused the volume of loans outstanding… Read More ›
In the second quarter of 2019, interest rates on loans for land acquisition, development, and single-family construction (AD&C) continued to drift upward, according to results from NAHB’s quarterly AD&C Financing Survey. As the survey showed, relationships among the various subcategories of AD&C loans remained about the same, with the highest average interest rate—6.59 percent—recorded on loans for land acquisition loans,… Read More ›