Eye On Housing
Higher mortgage rates and home prices, as well as increased construction costs contributed to lackluster new home sales in February, but signs point to improvement later in the year. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in February increased 1.1% to a 640,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in January, according to newly released data by the… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points but indicated that it was moving to a more data dependent mode as markets digest incoming risks for banks. The Fed is balancing two economic risks: ongoing elevated inflation and emerging risks to the banking system. Chair Powell noted that near-term uncertainty is high… Read More ›
Single-family production remained at an anemic pace in February as builders continue to wrestle with elevated mortgage rates, high construction costs and tightening credit conditions that threaten to be exacerbated by recent turmoil in the banking system. Led by gains in apartment construction, overall housing starts in February increased 9.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units,… Read More ›
Although high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to hamper housing affordability, builders expressed cautious optimism in March as a lack of existing inventory is shifting demand to the new home market. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in March rose two points to 44, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo… Read More ›
Over the first month of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 53,062. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 36.4% below the January 2022 level of 83,404. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The Northeast posted a decline of 20.3%, while the West region reported the steepest decline of… Read More ›
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined slightly in January, falling to 10.8 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July. The count of total job openings should fall in 2023 as the labor market softens and the unemployment rises. From an inflation perspective, ideally the count of open,… Read More ›
While nationwide single-family housing starts have slowed in the past year, the largest drop on a percentage basis is occurring in the densest counties, due to high housing costs. Meanwhile, multifamily growth was robust throughout much of the nation at the end of 2022, with the notable exception in high-density markets, according to the latest findings from the National Association… Read More ›
Residential construction loan volume reached a post-Great Recession high during the fourth quarter of 2022, as home building activity and new home sales remained below trend. Outstanding builder loan balances are rising as development debt is being held longer as new homes remain in inventory longer. Loan balances will decline in coming quarters as the development loan market becomes more… Read More ›
Declining mortgage rates and home prices in January, coupled with home builders use of sales incentives, helped boost new home sales last month. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in January at a 670,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, which is a 7.2% increase over upwardly revised… Read More ›
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. While townhouse construction has trended higher in recent quarters, the multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed. For 2021, there were only 12,000 starts of such residences. This is flat from from 2020, during a period… Read More ›