Eye On Housing
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 ›
Tag Archive for ‘prices’
PPI: Energy Prices Ease In October, But Most Residential Building Material Prices Shift Up
An easing in energy prices aided a decrease in the producer price index for finished goods (PPI) in October. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a seasonally adjusted 0.3% decline in the PPI in October, driven by a 1.4% (SA) decrease in the prices for finished energy goods. The index for finished goods has fluctuated in recent months, but has… Read More ›
Sharp Rise in Gypsum Prices Likely in New Year
Gypsum production is heavily dependent on construction industries. Approximately 90% of gypsum is used in the manufacture of wallboard for residential and non-residential building applications. A further 5% is used as an additive in cement production. The steep decline in the residential and non-residential building sectors over the past five years has greatly affected gypsum demand. Consumption of gypsum fell… Read More ›
House Prices Improving, But Results Are Mixed
The quarterly Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) purchase-only house price index (HPI) continued to fall in the second quarter, despite recent improvement in the monthly HPI. According to FHFA, U.S. house prices were 0.6% lower in the second quarter than the first quarter of 2011 and down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. This represents the 17th consecutive quarterly decline in… Read More ›
More Good News on House Prices — Case-Shiller House Price Index Continues to Improve in May
House prices continued to improve in May with Standard and Poor’s reporting the second consecutive monthly increase in both Case-Shiller composite house price indexes (HPIs) in May. The Case-Shiller Composite 20 (CS20) gained 1.1% (NSA) and the Composite 10 (CS10) was up 1.0%. This follows a 0.6% increase in both indexes in April, which was the first monthly increase since… Read More ›
House Prices Up Again in May
House prices firmed in May, confirming the end of an extended period of uninterrupted declines that spanned ten months. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 0.4% increase in the monthly purchase-only house price index (HPI) in May up to a seasonally adjusted level of 181.8—their second consecutive monthly increase. While house prices are finally moving in the right… Read More ›