Eye On Housing
After a slight slowing of sales at the end of 2020, new single-family home sales edged higher in January, increasing 4.3% to a 923,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to estimates from the Census Bureau and HUD. Sales exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer, which necessitated an increase in starts and some slowing… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that conventional loans financed the most new home sales in a fourth quarter since 2006 (see red bars in the chart below). However, the share of sales backed by conventional loans in the fourth quarter was down 2.2 percentage points (quarter-over-quarter)… Read More ›
After a surge in the pace of new home sales in the middle of the year, the monthly growth rate of newly built single-family home sales slowed at the end of 2020. Sales exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer. This necessitated an increase in starts and some slowing of sales. Nonetheless, the acceleration… Read More ›
After a surge in the pace of new home sales in earlier in the year, the monthly growth rate of newly built single-family home slowed during recent months. Sales exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer. This necessitated an increase in starts and some slowing of sales. Nonetheless, the acceleration of sales in 2020… Read More ›
After a surge in the pace of new home sales in July and August, the monthly growth rate of newly built single-family home slowed during the Fall. While the level of sales remains elevated and at post-Great Recession highs, sales have exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer. This necessitated an increase in starts… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that conventional loans financed the most new home sales in a quarter since 2007. The share of sales backed by conventional loans in the third quarter was 71.8%–the largest share since Q4 2018, but well below the housing boom peak of 91.7% (Q4… Read More ›
New single-family home sales surged in August, as housing demand was supported by low interest rates, a renewed consumer focus on the importance of housing, and rising demand in lower-density markets like suburbs and exurbs. Census and HUD estimated new home sales in August at a 1.01 million seasonally adjusted annual pace, an approximate 4.8% gain over revised July rate… Read More ›
The latest round of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Application Survey showed a decline in its benchmark Market Composite Index for the week ending on May 29 by 3.9% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Refinancing activity, fell sharply from the previous week by 8.6%. However, purchase application activity rose by 5.3%. Continuing the trend that… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that VA-backed sales made up 9.1% of new home sales in the first quarter of 2020, the largest market share since early 2016. In addition, cash sales (4.3%) made up their smallest share since Q3 2009 (3.8%). Mortgages backed by the… Read More ›
Despite a strong start for 2020, new home sales weakened significantly in March due to challenges associated with COVID-19. Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined in March by 15.4% to a 627,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. NAHB expects further declines in a challenging April, which has… Read More ›