Eye On Housing
Construction Reversal: Single-Family, Multifamily Units Under Construction
A reversal is taking place in the construction pipeline. Since early 2013, there have been consistently more multifamily units (residences within 2+ unit properties) under construction relative to single-family homes. This was due to multifamily construction recovering more quickly in the years after the Great Recession, as well as years of underbuilding in the single-family sector. However, as of July,… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Federal Reserve: Closer to Taper
The Federal Reserve has been supporting the housing market during the virus crisis, the 2020 recession, and the subsequent, ongoing recovery via asset-backed purchases (among other tools), including $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed security (MBS) purchases. These MBS purchases have held interest rates lower than they otherwise would have been. Today, the Fed moved closer to announcing a tapering… Read More ›
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Existing Home Sales Fall in August
As tight inventory continued to push up prices, existing home sales fell in August but remain above pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Though the median existing home prices has increased 34% since January 2020, housing demand remains strong thanks to low mortgage rates and buyers are waiting for more inventory. Total existing home sales, including… Read More ›
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Employment Situation in August: State-Level Analysis
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 31 states in August compared to the previous month while 19 states and the District of Columbia lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased at a slower rate by 235,000 in August, following an upwardly revised increase of 1,053,000 jobs in July. On a month-over-month basis, employment… Read More ›
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HBGI: Small Outlying Counties Have Greatest Share of Most Affordable Markets
Housing affordability has been a key driver of the suburban shift of home building activity over the last year and a half. As the following analysis from the NAHB Home Building Geography Index reveals, lower density markets in general have higher housing affordability conditions, which explains the shift in construction activity. The second quarter HBGI examined county-level Price-to-Income ratios. The… Read More ›
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August Housing Starts Lifted by Multifamily Development
Total housing starts increased 3.9% in August, due to strength for multifamily development. According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, single-family starts were down 2.8% for the month, while overall multifamily starts was up 21% in August. The August total starts reading of 1.62 million starts is the number of… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Steadies as Material and Labor Challenges Persist
Builder confidence inched up in September on lower lumber prices and strong housing demand, even as the housing sector continues to grapple with building material supply chain issues and labor challenges. Ending a three-month decline, builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes edged up one point to 76 in September, according to the National Association of Home… Read More ›
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July Single-Family Permit Gains
Over the first seven months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 681,949. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 29.7% increase over the July 2020 level of 525,623. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits increased in all four regions. The Northeast region reported the strongest increase of 32.2%, followed by the South… Read More ›
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Custom Home Building Share Declines
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), the custom home share decreased to 17.8 percent of all single-family homes started in 2020—the lowest the annual custom home share has been since the 2005 re-design of the SOC. The custom home market consists of contractor-built and owner-built houses—homes built one at a time for owner occupancy on… Read More ›
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Mortgage Refinancing Activity Tapers in Latest Month
The last four weeks’ mortgage purchasing and refinancing activities, as reflected in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest weekly application surveys, shows a general withdrawal of refinancing and a very slight increase in purchasing from the prior month. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate hovered 3 basis points above 3 percent, consistently, for the last three weeks. In the latest week,… Read More ›