Eye On Housing
Recent Posts - page 2
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Building Materials Price Growth Slowest Since 2015
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction advanced 0.2% in December (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials prices increased 0.1% per month, on average, in 2019. The price of goods used in residential construction rose 1.5% over the year, representing a 0.4ppt slowdown from the… Read More ›
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Slow Rebound in Single-Family Permits in November
Over the first eleven months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 791,452. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 1.0% decline over the November 2018 level of 799,679. Year-to-date ending in November, single-family permits reported declines in three regions and a slight increase in the South. The Northeast reported the steepest… Read More ›
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Rent Index Inches Up in December
In December, inflation-adjusted residential rents increased 0.1 percent over November’s reading, after essentially no growth in October and November (Figure 1). The average monthly growth rate of the real rent index stood at 0.11 percent in 2019, compared to 0.10 percent in 2018. NAHB constructs a “real” rent index to indicate whether inflation in rents is faster or slower than… Read More ›
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A Modest Increase in Core Inflation in December
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a 0.3% increase in November. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 0.1% in December, after rising 0.2% in November. The food and energy indexes increased faster in December than last… Read More ›
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Updated Index Shows Regulation Most Restrictive on the Coasts
In December, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released a working paper announcing the release of an updated version of the Wharton Land Use Regulatory Index. The paper’s lead author, Joseph Gyourko, is a professor at the Wharton School who is well known for his research in this area and worked with the previous version of the index. The… Read More ›
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New Homes Started With 4 or More Bedrooms Trends Lower
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction’s (SOC) estimate of the number of bedrooms in new single-family homes has shown a declining trend for homes with 4 bedrooms or more since 2015. The most recent SOC data show the number of bedrooms of new homes whose construction began in 2018 (new homes started). Nationally, the number of single-family homes started… Read More ›
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145,000 Jobs Added in December
Total payroll employment increased by 145,000 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.5% in December. Residential construction employment increased by 3,200 in December, after a decline of 1,100 jobs in November (revised). Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment totaled about 7.6 million in December. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Situation Summary for December. Total… Read More ›
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Consumer Credit Continues to Expand
The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows rising trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through November 2019. In November, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.6 percent from the previous month, with revolving debt1 decreasing by 2.7 percent and non-revolving debt2 increasing by 5.8 percent. Consumer credit totaled $4.2 trillion… Read More ›
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Two-Story Foyer Less Common in 2018
Information obtained from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB, shows that the share of new homes with a two-story foyer declined nationally and regionally except the West. According to the Census, a two-story foyer is defined as the entranceway inside the front door of the house and has a ceiling that is at the… Read More ›
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Mortgage Purchase Activity Rises
The latest tally of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Application Survey shows a slight decline in the market composite index, consisting of both purchase and refinancing loan activity, of 1.5% from two weeks earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending January 3, 2020. The purchase index rose by 5%, while the refinance index fell by 8%,… Read More ›