The past two months’ job gains indicate that the job market is cooling from its peak last year and is growing at a moderate pace. Total employment increased by 187,000 and the unemployment rate inched down to 3.5% in July. Wages grew at a 4.4% year-over-year growth rate, down 1.1 percentage points from a 5.4%…
According to the Federal Reserve Board’s July 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS)—conducted for bank lending activity over the second quarter of 2023—banks reported that lending standards tightened for all residential real estate (RRE) and commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories. Demand for RRE and CRE loans weakened across all categories over the quarter….
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report reveals that the share of new home sales backed by FHA loans climbed from 12.1% (revised) to 14.0% in the second quarter of 2023. It is the largest share since Q1 2021 but roughly three percentage points lower than the post-Great Recession…
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.9% in the second quarter of 2023, amid persistently tight housing supply. The homeownership rate remained statistically unchanged from the first quarter reading (66%). Compared to the peak of 69.2% in 2004, the homeownership rate is 3.3 percentage points lower and remains…
An earlier post revealed that 69% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the second quarter of 2023 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. The inability to find an affordable home remains the most common reason buyers looking for 3+ months can’t make a…
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 0.9% in June after an increase of 2.9% in May. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $856.3 billion. However, total private residential construction spending is still 10.4%% lower compared to a year ago. The total construction monthly increase…
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy continued to moved lower in June, falling to 9.6 million. While ongoing tight labor market conditions have raised the likelihood of a September Federal Reserve interest rate increase, the JOLTS survey is another data point indicating an ongoing but gradual cooling of macro conditions due…
