Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Construction Job Openings Trending Lower
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined again in March, falling to 9.6 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July. The count of open jobs was 12 million a year ago in March 2022. The count of total job openings should continue to fall in 2023 as the… Read More ›
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Lack of Existing Inventory Continues to Support Builder Sentiment
Builders remained cautiously optimistic in April as limited resale inventory helped to increase demand in the new home market even as the industry continues to grapple with building material issues. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in April rose one point to 45, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index… Read More ›
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Construction Job Openings Trending Lower
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined again in February, falling to 9.9 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July, and 10.6 million in January. The count of total job openings should fall in 2023 as the labor market softens and the unemployment rises. From an inflation perspective,… Read More ›
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New Home Sales Remain Relatively Flat in February
Higher mortgage rates and home prices, as well as increased construction costs contributed to lackluster new home sales in February, but signs point to improvement later in the year. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in February increased 1.1% to a 640,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in January, according to newly released data by the… Read More ›
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The Fed Raises Again but Takes a More Dovish Tone
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points but indicated that it was moving to a more data dependent mode as markets digest incoming risks for banks. The Fed is balancing two economic risks: ongoing elevated inflation and emerging risks to the banking system. Chair Powell noted that near-term uncertainty is high… Read More ›
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Single-Family Starts Remain Lackluster but Will Rebound Later This Year
Single-family production remained at an anemic pace in February as builders continue to wrestle with elevated mortgage rates, high construction costs and tightening credit conditions that threaten to be exacerbated by recent turmoil in the banking system. Led by gains in apartment construction, overall housing starts in February increased 9.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units,… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Edges Higher in March but Future Outlook Uncertain
Although high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to hamper housing affordability, builders expressed cautious optimism in March as a lack of existing inventory is shifting demand to the new home market. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in March rose two points to 44, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo… Read More ›
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Significant Drop for Construction Job Openings
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined slightly in January, falling to 10.8 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July. The count of total job openings should fall in 2023 as the labor market softens and the unemployment rises. From an inflation perspective, ideally the count of open,… Read More ›
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AD&C Balances Continue to Rise
Residential construction loan volume reached a post-Great Recession high during the fourth quarter of 2022, as home building activity and new home sales remained below trend. Outstanding builder loan balances are rising as development debt is being held longer as new homes remain in inventory longer. Loan balances will decline in coming quarters as the development loan market becomes more… Read More ›
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Missing Middle Housing Production Lags
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. While townhouse construction has trended higher in recent quarters, the multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed. For 2021, there were only 12,000 starts of such residences. This is flat from from 2020, during a period… Read More ›