Eye On Housing
June data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) suggest that hiring picked up for the construction industry in May and June. For the economy as a whole, the June JOLTS data reveal that the hiring rate stood at 3.3% of total employment. The national hiring rate has now been in a 3.2% to 3.4% range for the last 11 months. The job openings… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘home building’
Index Spotlights 80 Improving Housing Markets in August
A total of 80 metropolitan statistical areas across 32 states and the District of Columbia were listed as improving housing markets on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for August. This included 75 markets that retained their places on the list along with five new ones, while nine areas fell from the list due primarily… Read More ›
HUD’s Proposed Fair Market Rents Address a Number of Industry Issues
On August 3rd, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its list of proposed Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for fiscal year 2013. The primary purpose of FMRs is to establish maximum subsidies for HUD’s Housing Voucher Program (which provides rental assistance to about 1.8 million low-income, elderly and disabled households) although FMRs are sometimes used in other applications… Read More ›
Tax Extenders: Deduction for Mortgage Insurance Premiums
Update: January 14, 2013 – Many of these items were extended by the legislation that prevented the “fiscal cliff” at the end of 2012. Click here for details on extension of items like the PMI deduction. The tax extenders debate is heating up again in Washington. “Tax extenders” refer to a set of business and individual tax rules that expire… Read More ›
Remodeling Market Index Adjusts Downward in Second Quarter
NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) slipped under pressure from a softening labor market, dropping two points to 45 in the second quarter of 2012. The downward adjustment comes after the RMI reached 48 twice in 2011, the highest reading since 2006. The RMI is based on a quarterly survey of NAHB remodelers that asks them to rate current remodeling activity… Read More ›
Eye on the Economy: Home Building Remains a Bright Spot for a Slowing Economy
*Eye on the Economy is an NAHB newsletter that is published every two weeks and takes a larger view of recent economic and housing policy news. In a typical economic recovery, home construction leads economic growth. As interest rates fall, home building accelerates, creating jobs and generating a virtuous cycle of employment growth and increasing housing demand. However, after the… Read More ›
Pending Home Sales Decline in June
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, decreased 1.4 percent in June 2012 to 99.3 from a downwardly revised 100.7 in May. At this level, the June 2012 PHSI was 9.5 percent higher than the same period a year ago. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the June PHSI was up 2.6… Read More ›
New Home Sales Drop Back
The annual rate of new home sales dropped to 350,000 from an elevated and revised upward May level of 382,000. The larger than expected drop still leaves the quarter-to-quarter change a positive 3.1%. The absolute level of inventories and the month’s supply both remain near historic lows of 4.9 months and 144,000 homes for sale. The number of homes completed… Read More ›