Eye On Housing
***Eye on the Economy is a biweekly survey of NAHB’s economic and housing analysis from Chief Economist David Crowe. A disappointing jobs report sounded a note a caution concerning recent labor market momentum. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payroll employment expanded by only 142,000 in September, with revisions to the previous two months subtracting an additional 59,000 jobs. Residential… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘eye on the economy’
Consumer Confidence Rebounded in September
The Conference Board released its Consumer Confidence Index for September. The index is a composite of separate indexes tracking consumers’ assessments of current business, income and employment conditions, as well as their expectations for the future. The Consumer Confidence Index increased to a level of 103.0 in September from 101.3 in August. The present situation index rose to 121.1 from… Read More ›
Existing Home Sales vs. Home Prices
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller (CS) recently released their respective home price indexes for July. The FHFA index shows house price appreciation accelerated to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.3% in July. The CS index shows house prices rose at an annual growth rate of 4.6% in July. Both indexes have been rising… Read More ›
Big Drops in Energy Prices in August
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.8% in August, compared to 1.6% rise in July. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.9% in August, slower than 1.6% in July. In August, energy prices… Read More ›
Eye on the Economy: Builder Confidence at a Ten-Year High
***Eye on the Economy is a biweekly survey of NAHB’s economic and housing analysis from Chief Economist David Crowe. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index increased one point in September to 62, the highest level in 10 years. Two of the three components increased: The present sales indicator rose one point to 67, and the traffic indicator increased two points to… Read More ›
Eye on the Economy: Growth for July Sales
***Eye on the Economy is a biweekly survey of NAHB’s economic and housing analysis from Chief Economist David Crowe. July housing data brought good news for both the newly built and existing home markets. July newly built homes sales, as reported by the Census Bureau and HUD, rose 5.4% from June and 25.8% from July 2014. The increase brings annual new… Read More ›
Slow Rise in Consumer Prices in July
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported consumer prices increased in July. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6%, slower than 3.9% in June. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6% in July. Energy prices were stabilized and rose at a… Read More ›
Eye on the Economy: Builder Confidence, Single-Family Starts Rising
***Eye on the Economy is a biweekly survey of NAHB’s economic and housing analysis. The most recent home construction data offer modest reasons to be optimistic, although risks remain. The August NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index continued its slow rise to a nine-plus-year high of 61, up one point from July. The index has been at 60 or more since June… Read More ›
Unexpected Decline in Consumer Confidence in July
Consumer sentiment and consumer confidence are two indexes showing consumers’ perceptions of current business, income and employment conditions, as well as their expectations for the future’s economy. In July, both the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment and the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined unexpectedly after the solid growth in June. Despite the monthly declines the indexes have… Read More ›
Home Price Growth Continues to Moderate in May
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller recently released their respective home price indexes for May. The House Price Index (HPI) data reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shows house prices rose at an annual growth rate of 5.4% in May, higher than the 4.7% in April and the 3.8% in March. The Standard… Read More ›