Eye On Housing
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family and multifamily starts improved in April, consistent with the recent stabilization of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Single-family starts increased 6.2% to an 854,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in April. Total multifamily starts increased 4.7% to a 381,000 annualized rate. On a year-to-date basis,… Read More ›
In April, core inflation remained unchanged. And, overall inflation decreased as increases in energy prices slowed and the food index fell. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), rose by 0.3% in April, after a 0.4% increase in March. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $500.9 billion in March, the lowest level since December 2016. It was the third consecutive monthly decrease after a rebound in December 2018. The total private residential construction spending was down by 1.8% in March after a… Read More ›
According to a estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family starts continued to show weakness in March, despite the recent stabilization in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). After downward revisions made to the February data, single-family starts were down 0.4% to a 785,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in March, the lowest such rate… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index for March. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in March, after a 0.2% increase in February. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 0.1% in March, the same increase as in February. The price index for a… Read More ›
Total housing starts posted a 8.7 percent decrease in February (1.162 million units) compared to a upwardly revised January estimate of 1.273 million units according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to February 2018, total starts are 9.9 percent below the annual pace of 1.29 million units. The rate of single-family starts posted a… Read More ›
An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. As multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. According to fourth quarter 2018 data, the average per unit square footage of multifamily housing construction starts was 1,136, off from the… Read More ›
Consumer prices rose modestly in February, reflecting increases in energy prices and the food index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index for February. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% in February after being unchanged for three consecutive months, as shown in Figure 1. Excluding the volatile food and… Read More ›
Total housing starts increased 18.6 percent in January 2019 (1.230 million units) compared to a revised down December estimate of 1.037 million units. However, total starts are 7.8 percent below the January 2018 level of 1.334 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department that was delayed due to the partial government… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $536.7 billion in December. It was down 1.4% for the month after a 3.4% increase in November. Total private residential spending was 3.3% higher in 2018 relative to 2017. Multifamily construction spending hit a new record high,… Read More ›