The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its January meeting. The Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative tightening…
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate declined to 65.7% in the last quarter of 2023, amid persistently tight housing supply and elevated mortgage interest rates. This is 0.3 percentage points lower from the third quarter reading (66%). Compared to…
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower in recent months. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the December data showed an uptick due…
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report reveals that the all-cash purchases accounted for 8.4% of new home sales in 2023—a 1.3 percentage point decline over the year but still the second-highest share since 1991. In contrast, the share of new…
Housing’s share of the economy rose to 16.0% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. Overall GDP increased at a 3.3% annual rate, following a 4.9% increase in the third quarter of 2023, and a 2.1% increase in the second quarter of 2023….
The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong pace in the fourth quarter, mainly fueled by resilient consumer spending. However, the fourth quarter data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP price index rose 1.5% for the fourth quarter, down from…
Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised…
