A sharp decline in multifamily starts pushed overall housing starts down in January even as single-family production showed signs of a gradual improvement later this year as interest rates continue to moderate. Overall housing starts decreased 14.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate…
Over 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 909,227. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 6.5% below the December 2022 level of 972,180. Year-to-date ending in December, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The range of permit decline…
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its January meeting. The Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative tightening…
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower in recent months. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the December data showed an uptick due…
Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised…
In a sign that lower mortgage rates continue to boost the housing market, single-family production surpassed the million mark for the second straight month in December. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau overall housing…
Mortgage rates well under 7% over the past month have led to a sharp increase in builder confidence to begin the new year. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes climbed seven points to 44 in January, according to the National Association…
