Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Federal Reserve Provides Stimulus — Including for Housing
Due to the spreading economic damage caused by mitigation efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve provided an immediate round of monetary policy stimulus. The policy announcement included: A cut in the federal funds rate to a top rate of 0.25% The discount rate was effectively lowered from 1.25% to 0.25% as a means of ensuring… Read More ›
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Federal Reserve Enacts 50 Basis Point Rate Cut
Reacting to the growing demand- and supply-side impacts of the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve FOMC today reduced the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points, lowering the target to 1 1/4 and 1 percent. This is the first time since 2008 the FOMC enacted a federal funds rate cut outside of the typical meeting schedule. It… Read More ›
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Small Year-over-Year Gain for Construction Loans
As interest rates declined during the second half of 2019, the stock of outstanding residential construction loans declined during the final quarter of 2019. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions declined 0.8%. The volume of loans fell by $615 million during the quarter, placing the total stock of loans at $79.7 billion. On a… Read More ›
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Multifamily Built-for-Rent: 94% Market Share
An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. According to fourth quarter 2019 data, the average per unit square footage of multifamily housing construction starts was 1,074, off from the post-recession high set at the start of 2015 (1,247 square feet). The median was 1,053 square feet for… Read More ›
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New Single-Family Home Size Continues to Fall
New single-family home size trended lower during the final quarter of 2019 as interest rates remained low and builders seek to add additional entry-level supply. According to fourth quarter 2019 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area ticked down to 2,252 square feet. Average (mean) square footage… Read More ›
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Custom Home Building Posts Gain for 2019
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building expanded during the fourth quarter of 2019, supported by low mortgage interest rates. There were 44,000 total custom building starts during the fourth quarter of 2019. This marks a 16% gain over the final quarter of 2018 total of 38,000. Over the… Read More ›
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Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction Slow in 2019
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent (SFBFR) posted a year-over-year decline for the fourth quarter of 2019. The SFBFR market has received attention as a means to add single-family inventory amid concerns over housing affordability and downpayment requirements in the for-sale market. Single-family built-for-rent construction does differ in structure characteristics compared other newly-built single-family homes. According to NAHB’s analysis of… Read More ›
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Townhouse Construction Lower in 2019
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, after a strong 2018, townhouse construction experienced weakness over the course of 2019. This recent market softness matches data in the NAHB HBGI, which revealed reduced construction activity for large metro suburban markets in 2019. These kind of higher density neighborhoods are often… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Remains Solid in February
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes edged one point lower to 74 in February, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The last three monthly readings mark the highest sentiment levels since December 2017. Steady job growth, rising wages and low interest rates are fueling housing demand in a market… Read More ›
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Renewed Hiring in Construction
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings posted a monthly increase in December due to renewed hiring in the industry following the housing soft patch of 2018 and 2019. The estimated number of job openings increased from the November total (217,000) to 239,000 in December, after reaching a post-Great Recession high of… Read More ›