Eye On Housing
NAHB analysis of the Census Construction Spending data shows total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $535.9 billion in May. It was down 4.0% in May, after a 5.1% decline in April, due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns. On a year-over-year basis, however, total private construction spending inched up 0.7%…. Read More ›
Single-family housing starts were flat in May, albeit off an upwardly revised estimate for construction in April. Single-family starts in May were estimated by Census/HUD at a 675,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, after an revised estimate of 674,000 for April. However, the turning point for the market was found in the permits data. Consistent with recent gains in the NAHB/Wells… Read More ›
Over the first four months of 2020 – and at the onset of the impact of the coronavirus, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 283,344. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 8.5% increase over the April 2019 level of 261,119. Year-to-date ending in April, single-family permits across the four regions ranging from an increase of 11.5%… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the Census Construction Spending data shows total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $536.8 billion in April. It was down 4.5% in April, after a 0.2% dip in March, due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns. On a year-over-year basis, however, total private construction spending rose 6.2%. The… Read More ›
An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. According to first quarter 2020 data, the average per unit square footage of multifamily housing construction starts was 1,086, off from the post-recession high set at the start of 2015 (1,247 square feet). The median was 1,031 square feet for… Read More ›
As indicated by the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), housing starts retreated in April due to the economic consequences of government-imposed lockdowns associated with virus mitigation. Single-family starts were 25% lower in April, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 650,000. Since the peak rate in February, the pace of single-family construction has declined 37%. The April pace was… Read More ›
Backward-looking data illustrate the degree of damage done by the sudden stop of the U.S. economy due to the public health response associated with the coronavirus. For example, there were 4,300 net job losses in residential construction in March, followed by a staggering 415,000 losses in home building and remodeling in April. The leading edge of this job loss was… Read More ›
Over the first three months of 2020 – and prior to the impact of the coronavirus, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 220,416. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 18.9% increase over the March 2019 level of 185,336. Year-to-date ending in March, single-family permits reported growth across the four regions ranging from 21.7%… Read More ›
According to estimates from the Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Departments, single-family starts began an expected, virus-related decline in March. Construction activity is expected to fall as virus mitigation efforts result in increased unemployment, economic uncertainty and lost business activity. Despite a strong start for 2020 in January and February, the April NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI point to additional construction… Read More ›
In an online poll conducted by NAHB in recent days, 90 percent of multifamily developers said the coronavirus has had an adverse effect on how long it takes to obtain a plan review for a typical multifamily building, and 88 percent said it has had an adverse effect on timely collection of rent payments. The poll collected 49 responses from… Read More ›