Eye On Housing
Although reports on the Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction release usually emphasize housing starts (and may mention permits), the number of homes under construction is also worth looking at, and at this time is a particularly good indicator of sustained recovery in the home building industry. The Census Bureau’s latest release shows that the seasonally adjusted number of homes under construction has… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘construction’
How Long Does It Take to Build a House?
The 2012 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that on average it takes about 7 months from obtaining a building permit to completing a new single-family home. Looking at the houses completed in 2012, houses built for sale, on average, register the shortest time from permits to completion – between 5 and 6 months. Houses built on… Read More ›
Amid Cutbacks, Construction Inspections Are on the Rise
Before it can be completed and delivered to a buyer, the median single-family home requires eight separate inspections, according to a recent survey of NAHB’s builder members. At the extreme, 17 percent of builders report that their typical home requires at least 15 different inspections. Moreover, the number of construction inspections is on the rise. In the same survey, 45… Read More ›
Single-Family, Multifamily, Home Improvement Spending All Up
Total private residential construction spending increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $328.6 billion in May 2013, the fastest pace of residential construction since October 2008. The reading is 1.2 percent above the positively revised April estimate and 22 percent higher since a year ago. All three components of residential construction spending registered gains. New multifamily construction spending showed… Read More ›
Rental Market Continues to Strengthen
The most recent data from the Survey of Market Absorption of Apartments (SOMA) showed that completions of privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished rental apartments continued to climb in the fourth quarter of 2012. The reported 31,600 completions in buildings with 5+ units were slightly above the third quarter level and more than doubled since the fourth quarter of 2011. At the… Read More ›
Apartment Production Spikes to an Unsustainable Rate
The Census Bureau’s preliminary estimate for starts in buildings with five or more apartments in March came in at a massive (seasonally adjusted annual) rate of 392,000 units. In the Census construction report, this shows up as a 27 percent increase over February. However, the number for February was itself revised upward by 24,000—so the five-plus starts rate for March… Read More ›
Immigrant Workers in Construction
A new study from NAHB Economics examines where construction workers come from by analyzing the most recent 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The results show that immigrants have been an important source of new recruits to the construction industry—accounting for 22 percent of the overall labor force. The inflow of foreign born labor into construction is cyclical and coincides with… Read More ›
Multifamily Starts: A Little Stronger than We Thought Last Month
For February of 2013, the Census Bureau’s preliminary estimate for starts in buildings with five or more apartments came in at 285,000 (at a seasonally adjusted annual rate). In the Census construction report, this shows up as less than a 1 percent increase from January, but the January number itself was revised upward by nearly 9 percent—so 285,000 is actually… Read More ›
Multifamily Production Index Shows More Improvement
In the fourth quarter of 2012, NAHB’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased two points to 54, marking the fourth straight quarter the index has been over the key break-even point of 50. The MPI is an overall measure of builder and developer sentiment on current conditions in the apartment and condominium market. The MPI is built from three components, capturing… Read More ›
Apartment Construction Continues to Improve
Completions of unfurnished apartments for rent or sale in 5+ unit properties climbed to more than 30,000 units during the third quarter of 2012, a 20% increase versus the third quarter of 2011. The Survey of Market Absorption of Apartments (SOMA) tracks completions and market absorption rates (units rented or sold after construction of the property is complete) for apartments sold or… Read More ›