Eye On Housing
Although produced by NAHB’s Economists, Eye on Housing is intended for a fairly broad readership with an interest in housing, but not necessarily in the academic research published by technical journals. Nevertheless, many EoH readers will want to know about a relatively recent technical paper published in Housing Policy Debate. The paper is called The What, Where, and When of… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘economics’
New Home Sales Decline in May
Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined to a 626,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in May according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. This was a surprising drop due to recent softening of mortgage interest rates and continued low unemployment. Recent months’ data have been relatively positive, with the revised March pace of 705,000… Read More ›
Texas Leads Job Gains in May
Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted (SA) increased by 2.4 million jobs, year-over-year (YoY), or 1.6% from May 2018 to May 2019. During this time, total nonfarm employment in the Western region increased by 2.0%. The South, Northeast, and Midwest recorded gains at 1.6%, 0.9% and 0.8% respectively, during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll employment… Read More ›
Housing Starts Relatively Flat in May
Total housing starts posted a 0.9 percent decrease in May (1.269 million units) compared to an upwardly revised April estimate of 1.281 million units, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to May 2018, total starts are 4.7 percent below the annual pace of 1.332 million units. Single-family production in May posted a monthly… Read More ›
Builder Confidence Solid in June Amidst Growing Economic Uncertainty
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell two points to 64 in June, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Sentiment levels have held at a solid range in the low- to mid-60s for the past five months. While demand for single-family homes remains sound, builders continue to report rising… Read More ›
Construction Job Openings Rise in April
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in April, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 404,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 258,000 openings estimated in April… Read More ›
Builders’ Use of Drones Remains Widespread, Mostly for Promotional Photos
Well over 40 percent of builders continue to use aerial drones, according to special questions on the March 2019 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The first of these questions asks the single-family builders in the HMI panel if they have ever used drones in their businesses, including any cases where they may have hired third parties… Read More ›
Have You Seen These Posts for National Home Remodeling Month?
May is National Home Remodeling Month. As has become a tradition, Eye on Housing recognized the occasion with a series of posts related to the topic. As the month draws to a close, we provide a summary of those posts for readers who may have missed them: For Remodelers, Shortages of Skilled Labor Remain Elevated: May 1, 2019. Remodeling to… Read More ›
Rates on Construction Loans Back Off Slightly in the First Quarter
After rising throughout most of 2018, with one minor exception, interest rates on loans for residential acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) backed off slightly in the first quarter of 2019, according to results from NAHB’s latest AD&C survey. The NAHB survey showed average first quarter interest rates of 6.56 percent on land acquisition loans, 6.25 percent on loans for land… Read More ›
Just Released: NAHB Remodeling by Zip Code Estimates for 2019
NAHB recently released its latest estimates of spending on improvements to owner-occupied housing by zip code. The estimates include the number of owner-occupied homes, the number of home owners spending on improvements, the average spending per improvement, and total spending on improvements in each zip code projected to occur over calendar year 2019. Also provided are 2019 estimates of the… Read More ›