Eye On Housing
New home sales were solid in February before challenges associated with the coronavirus set in on the economy. Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined slightly in February by 4% to a 756,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. However, this marked a 14% gain over the February 2019… Read More ›
Given the growing number of economic impacts from mitigation efforts associated with the coronavirus, early 2020 labor market data is of reduced value. However, the data help to describe where the economy was before the shocks of March. January data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings posted year-over-year decline at the… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell two points to 72 in March, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Sentiment levels have held in a firm range in the low- to mid-70s for the past six months. Builder confidence remains solid, although sales expectations for the next six months… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Contracts for new, single-family home sales increased 7.9% in January to a 764,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The increase came off an upwardly revised December estimate, which was revised from an initial reading of 694,000 to a new estimate of 708,000. Year-over-year, the January estimate is 18.6%… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
In the fourth-quarter of 2019, builders and developers reported declining interest rates on all types of loans covered in NAHB’s quarterly survey on acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) financing (Exhibit 8). The average interest rate declined from 6.39 to 6.13 percent on loans for land acquisition, from 6.31 to 5.94 percent on loans for land development, from 5.99 to 5.63… Read More ›