Eye On Housing
Job Growth Decline in December: State-Level Analysis
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 29 states and the District of Columbia in December compared to the previous month but the job losses in the remining 21 states erased the job gains. The largest increase came from Texas, which added 64,200 jobs during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 140,000… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Double-digit Growth in Home Prices
In November, national home prices continued to rise at a fast pace, fueled by strong demand and low inventory. All 19 major markets saw double-digit growths in home prices. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 18.3% in November, following a 21.9% increase… Read More ›
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COVID-19 Continues to Impact Home Purchasing Plans
According to NAHB’s latest Housing Trends Report (HTR), the share of Americans who are considering the purchase of a home in the next 12 months was 15% in the fourth quarter of 2020, four percentage points higher than a year earlier and the largest year-over-year gain in the 3+year history of this series. The gain shows the COVID-19 pandemic continues… Read More ›
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Top Ten Builder Share Tops 30 Percent in 2019 for Second Year in a Row
The top 10 builders captured 30.4% of new single-family home closings in 2019, according to data released by BUILDER Magazine. The 30.4% share represents 207,724 closings out of the 683,000 new single-family home sales reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019. However, these closings represent approximately 23% of single-family starts, a broader measure of home building that includes custom… Read More ›
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The Missing Middle: A Solution for Adding More Housing
In many communities, 2-4 unit multifamily housing (structures with two, three or four units) is the key to expanding the existing housing stock, in order to solve the housing shortage. Two-four unit multifamily residences such as duplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, courtyard buildings, and cottage courts provide much needed entry-level housing options and/or more affordable housing for the first-time home buyers and… Read More ›
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AD&C Loan Volume Fell Back in Third Quarter
Continuing a period of weakness that began at the end of 2019, the volume of residential construction lending posted a slight decline during the third quarter of 2020. This decline occurred, however, during a period of rising builder confidence and expansion of single-family home building. These data suggest that home builders were deleveraging during the market rebound of the second… Read More ›
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Existing Home Sales Reached 14-year High in 2020
As demand continues to be driven by low mortgage rates and a suburban shift for home-buying preference, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), ticked up in December and the annual sales tally reached the highest level since 2006. But surging house prices and inventory shortage could limit demand and slow the market. Total existing… Read More ›
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How Affordable is the New Home Premium?
Earlier we published a post highlighting lower operating costs per dollar value for new homes. This post takes the analysis a step further and shows that home buyers can afford to pay a 36% premium for a new single-family detached house, compared to the one built before 1960, simply because it is new and has lower operating and maintenance costs…. Read More ›
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Housing Starts Ends 2020 Strong
Total housing starts posted a 5.8 percent increase in December (1.67 million units) compared to an upwardly revised November estimate of 1.58 million units according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to December 2019, total starts are 5.2 percent above the annual pace of 1.59 million units. Single-family starts posted a monthly increase of… Read More ›
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Confidence in Remodeling is Strong Despite COVID-19
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 79 in the fourth quarter of 2020. The reading indicates remodelers’ confidence in their markets, for projects of all sizes, despite the ongoing negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (Table 1). The RMI is based on a survey asking remodelers to rate five subcomponents of… Read More ›