Eye On Housing
April Single-Family Permit Gains; Austin 2nd Largest Multifamily Market
Over the four months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 384,196. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 35.6% increase over the April 2020 level of 283,344. Year-to-date ending in April, single-family permits reported increases in all four regions. The relatively more affordable Midwest reported the strongest increase of 49.8%, followed by… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Real Estate Market Values Surge in the First Quarter
The latest results from the Federal Reserve’s Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States, i.e., the “Flow of Funds”, show that, in the first quarter of 2021, the aggregate market value of all owner-occupied real estate in the United States registered the largest numerical quarterly increase in the last 20 years’ worth of data. From $32.84 trillion in the fourth… Read More ›
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Consumer Prices Rising at Fastest Pace in a Decade
Consumer prices continued to rise in May, supported by increases in housing costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, following an increase of 0.8% in April. It marks the largest increase since June 2009. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, “core” CPI… Read More ›
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HBGI Shows Suburban Shift for Multifamily Construction
The first quarter 2021 Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) showed that single-family home building continued to shift to low-density and low-cost markets, a trend stemming largely from the COVID-19 pandemic and first reported in the second quarter of 2020. However, this suburban shift has been even more pronounced in the multifamily sector, which is experiencing growth in 2021 after a… Read More ›
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Count of Open Construction Jobs Near Two-Year High
The count of open construction jobs increased in April to 357,000 unfilled positions, according to data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The housing market remains hot and requires additional labor, lots and lumber and building materials to add inventory. Overall, hiring in the construction sector slowed in April, declining to a 4.5% rate. The recent… Read More ›
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Residential Construction Loan Volume Moves Higher
Ending a period of volume decline that began at the end of 2019, the volume of residential construction lending posted an increase during the first quarter of 2021. Nonetheless, overall residential construction loan volume ended the year lower due to accelerated sales growth, which reduced outstand loans at a faster rate. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made… Read More ›
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Solid Job Gains in May
Job gains accelerated in May as vaccination rates increased and COVID-19 restrictions lifted. Total payroll employment rose by 559,000 and the unemployment rate decreased to 5.8% in May. In May, non-residential construction lost 21,800 positions, reflecting declines in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (-16,800), while residential construction employment rose by 1,900. Currently, residential construction employment exceeds its level in February 2020,… Read More ›
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The Aging Housing Stock
The median age of owner-occupied homes is 39 years, according to the latest data from the 2019 American Community Survey. Compared to a median age of 31 years in 2005, the U.S. owner-occupied housing stock is aging gradually. The residential construction continues to fall behind in the number of new homes built especially after the Great Recession. This aging housing… Read More ›
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Builders Report 26 Percent Increase in Material Prices
A post published last week discussed how record numbers of builders were reporting on broad-based shortages of building materials and products. The source of the information was the May survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The same survey asked the HMI panel of single-family builders how total material costs for the same house have changed over the… Read More ›
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Private Residential Spending Rises Modestly in April
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 1.0% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $729.2 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 29.7% higher than a year ago. The monthly gains are largely attributed to the strong growth of spending on multifamily and single family construction. Multifamily construction spending… Read More ›