Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Softwood Lumber, OSB Lead August Price Increases
The prices of softwood lumber, OSB, and ready-mix concrete increased by 2.5%, 2.9%, and 0.5%, respectively, in August according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In contrast, the price paid for gypsum fell 0.6%, its first monthly decline since May. Softwood lumber prices rose for the second consecutive month the 3.0% decrease in June. … Read More ›
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Property Tax Revenue Keeps Climbing
NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s quarterly tax data shows that $549 billion in taxes were paid by property owners over the four quarters ending in Q1 2017.[1] This represents an $8 billion—or 1.5%—increase over the previous trailing four quarters. After slowing in three consecutive quarters, the growth rate of property tax receipts has now accelerated over the last two and remains robust… Read More ›
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Gypsum Prices Continue to Climb
The prices of gypsum, softwood lumber, and ready-mix concrete increased by 1.4%, 0.6%, and 0.3%, respectively, in July according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In contrast, the price paid for OSB fell 3.8%, its largest monthly decline since February 2016. Gypsum prices rose 1.4% in July following a 1.3% increase in June. The… Read More ›
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Top Ten Sources of Softwood Lumber Imports
The softwood lumber trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada has sent prices significantly higher in the first seven months of 2017. The Random Lengths Composite Price—a weighted-average measure consisting of multiple species and dimensions of softwood lumber products—increased 14% over just three weeks in February. Certain framing lumber—such as spruce-pine-fir (S-P-F) studs—remains 40% more expensive than it was seven… Read More ›
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FHA-backed Loans Finance Smallest Share of New Home Sales Since 2014
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the Census Bureau reveals that FHA-backed loans were responsible for 11.9% of new home sales during the second quarter of 2017. The share of sales financed with FHA-backed mortgages has fallen five percentage points over the past four quarters and is below 12% for the first… Read More ›
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Specialty Contractor Partnerships’ Use of Debt and Capital
Specialty contractors structured as partnerships generated aggregate net income of $4.5 billion in 2014, according to the most recent IRS data available.[1] These data are broken out by industry and income tax deductions, allowing us to compare the use of tax deductions by partnerships across a wide array of sectors. Analyzing the size of depreciation and business interest deductions taken… Read More ›
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Prices of Softwood Lumber and OSB Decline in June
The prices of softwood lumber and OSB fell by 3.0% and 0.4%, respectively, in June according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In contrast, prices paid for gypsum and ready-mix concrete increased 1.3% and 0.4%, respectively, over the month. The softwood lumber price index fell for the first time in seven months… Read More ›
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Residential Fixed Investment Reaches Near-Decade High
Final estimates of first quarter 2017 GDP growth (revised up two-tenths of a percentage point to 1.4%), show that housing’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged at 15.6%. The home building and remodeling component—residential fixed investment (RFI)—increased 0.1 percentage point to 3.6% as a share of GDP. The first-quarter expansion of RFI added 0.48 percentage point to the… Read More ›
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Property Tax Revenues Increase for 18th Straight Quarter
NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s quarterly tax data shows that $541 billion in taxes were paid by property owners over the four quarters ending in Q4 2016.[1] This represents a $23 billion—or 4.5%—increase over the previous trailing four quarters. Although this growth rate declined for the first time in a year and a half, it remains robust relative to… Read More ›
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Prices of Softwood Lumber and OSB Keep Climbing
The prices of softwood lumber and OSB increased by 2.2% and 3.3%, respectively, in May according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increases were a return to the 2017 norm, as softwood lumber and OSB have led building materials price gains in every month except April, when gypsum prices rose 5.1%. In contrast,… Read More ›