Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Energy Prices Continue to Move Up; Rents Move Slightly Higher
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released January Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers today. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for All Urban Consumers rose 0.4 % in January, the same as in December. January and December are the largest monthly increases since the 0.7% rise in June 2009. On a year-over-year basis the index was up a moderate… Read More ›
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Residential Building Materials Prices Higher Mainly Due to Rising Energy Costs
Higher energy prices continued to play a key role in rising producer prices and building materials prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released January Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers today. For the fourth month in a row, higher energy prices were largely responsible the 0.8% seasonally adjusted increase in the PPI for finished goods, which has been rising since… Read More ›
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December Single-family Residential Construction Spending Holds Its Own While Multifamily Construction Spending and Improvements Fall
Residential construction spending fell in December after three monthly increases in a row due to declines in multifamily construction and improvements spending. The U.S. Census Bureau released December construction spending data today. Total nominal construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $787.9 billion, down 2.5% from the revised November estimate of $807.8 billion. For the year,… Read More ›
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Rental Vacancy Down But Homeownership Rate Continues to Slip
The Census Bureau’s fourth quarter Housing Vacancy and Homeownership Report released today showed lower rental vacancy rates. National rental vacancy rates fell to 9.4% down from 10.3% in the third quarter and down from 10.7% a year earlier. This is the first time the rate has been below 10% since third quarter 2008 when it stood at 9.9% and is… Read More ›
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Housing Construction in December
The Census Bureau reported that December total housing starts fell 4.3% to 529,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from November’s revised 553,000. The drop in starts was driven by a 9.0% fall in single-family starts from November’s 458,000 to 417,000. Multifamily starts, which are often volatile, jumped 17.9% to 112,000 from 95,000. That still left fourth quarter multifamily starts… Read More ›
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Energy Prices Spike Up; Rents Rise Modestly
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released December Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers today. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for All Urban Consumers rose 0.5% in December, the largest monthly increase since the 0.7% rise in June 2009. However, on a year-over-year basis the index was up a moderate 1.5%. Energy prices spiked up 4.6% (SA) for the… Read More ›
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Energy Costs Continue to Push Residential Building Materials Prices Up
Once again, higher energy prices were the primary force behind increases in producer prices and building materials prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released December Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers today. Largely propelled by higher energy prices, the PPI for finished goods, which has been rising since June, rose 1.1% from November on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest… Read More ›
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November Single-family Residential Construction Spending Rises for the First Time since April
Residential construction spending increased for the third month in a row in November, this time with contributions to spending from all three sectors of residential construction—single-family construction, multifamily construction and improvements. The U.S. Census Bureau released November construction spending data today. Total nominal construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $810.2 billion, up 0.4% (which, however,… Read More ›
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Energy Prices Rise More Slowly; Rents Increase
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released November Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers today. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for All Urban Consumers rose 0.1% in November, down from 0.2% in October. On a year-over-year basis the index was up 1.1%. Both food and energy prices rose, up 0.2% (SA) for the month. Food prices were up 1.5%… Read More ›
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Energy Costs Continue to Push Residential Building Materials Prices Up
Higher energy prices continued to be the primary force behind increases in building materials prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released November Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers today. The PPI for finished goods rose 0.8% for the month (seasonally adjusted), up from the 0.4% increase October and September, and was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. The November increase… Read More ›