Eye On Housing
Aside from weaker results from the St. Louis District, economic activity increased at a “slow to moderate pace” across the nation according to the latest release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. The majority of Fed Districts reported modest gains in consumer spending, both auto and non-auto sales, and most had positive expectations for holiday sales. Tourism activity appeared to… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘multifamily’
Slower CPI Growth in October, But Real Rents Accelerate
The 16-month run of steady growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) months took a pause in October, registering only the second month-over-month decline since June of 2010. The October reading of the CPI for All Urban Consumers by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed a 0.1% (SA) decrease. An easing in energy prices drove the decline in the… Read More ›
Homeownership Rate Rises during Third Quarter of 2011
The US Census Bureau reported the seasonally adjusted homeownership rate registered a slight gain during the third quarter of 2011, increasing to 66.1 percent. Although this marks the first outright quarter-to-quarter increase since mid-2008, the homeownership rate is still at its lowest level since the second quarter of 1998 and 3.3 percentage points below the peak reading set back in… Read More ›
Construction Spending Ticks Higher in September
Private residential construction spending increased 0.2% during September. Construction activity has failed to expand consistently in the past year—six month-to-month increases offset by five monthly declines. Overall, private residential construction spending inched up a meager 0.1% compared to September 2010. The new single-family home category posted its fourth consecutive month-to-month gain during September, rising 0.5%. However, homebuilding activity can, at… Read More ›
Census Data Reveal Geography of Rent Burdened Families
New NAHB analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) reveals the state-by-state distribution of rent-burdened households. According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development definitions, a renting household or family is considered “rent-burdened” if they pay more than 30 percent of their household income in gross rent (“severely rent-burdened” if they pay more than 50%). Nationwide… Read More ›
Construction Spending Rises across the Board in August
Private residential construction spending increased 0.7% on a month-to-month basis in August. However, total spending activity in the residential construction sector has been flat to date in 2011, with four month-to-month increases matched by four decreases. On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending increased is up 3.9%, the fourth consecutive gain and the largest percentage increase since June 2010…. Read More ›
The Rental Housing Stock
Given the increasing focus with respect to growing demand for rental properties, we thought we would present the breakdown of the rental housing stock by structure type. Using the 2009 American Housing Survey, the data show that 30% of all housing units in the United States are renter-occupied or vacant for-rent. A surprisingly large share of this rental housing stock consists of single-family detached homes: 27%. When adding townhouses… Read More ›