Tag Archives: Census Bureau

November saw new housing starts jump to a nearly six-year high, the Census Bureau and HUD revealed Wednesday in a joint release. According to initial estimates, starts ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million, a 22.7 percent spike from October and the highest rate since February 2008. Single-family housing starts contributed 727,000 (adjusted annual rate) to November's total, while the rate for multifamily buildings was about 354,000.

Sales of new single-family homes were at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual pace of 354,000 in September, Census and HUD reported. In October, the sales pace picked up to an estimated 444,000, an increase of 25.4 percent month-over-month and 21.6 percent year-over-year. As of month's end, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale for 183,000, representing a 4.9 month supply at the current sales rate, the agencies reported.

The Census Bureau released on Monday its construction spending numbers for both September and October, catching up on releases delayed by the partial government shutdown. In September, total construction spending was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $901.2 billion, down from August's $903.8 billion. Spending for total residential construction, however, perked up, rising to an annual rate of $334.5 billion. Spending on homebuilding in October was down from the previous month, falling to an estimated rate of $332.9 billion.

The Census Bureau and HUD jointly released their data on building permits for September and October, with data on housing starts and completions postponed due to a lack of funds as a result of the government shutdown. In October, privately owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.034 million--the strongest figure since June 2008. Permit activity picked up for both single- and multifamily properties.

The national homeownership rate stands at 65.3 percent as of the end of the third quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, but down 0.2 percentage points from last year, according to the Census Bureau. While the quarterly rise has some analysts expressing hope that housing has reached a turning point, others focused more on the slow pace of growth as a sign that young adults still aren't in a position to create their own households.

The Census Bureau put construction spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $915.1 billion in August, a slight increase over July's spending. On the private side, the Census estimated construction spending was at an adjusted rate of $640.5 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised July estimate of $636.1 billion. Private residential construction spending was $340.2 billion, a 1.2 percent increase from July and an 18.7 percent increase from August 2012.

According to recently published data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), the homeownership rate was down in 2012 for the fifth consecutive year, falling to 63.9 percent. "By most measures, 2012 was a year of housing market recovery, with gains in housing construction, home sales, home prices, and mortgage originations. However ... the homeownership rate did not follow suit," said Patrick Simmons, director of strategic planning for Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group.

Responding again to higher mortgage rates, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) slipped for the third straight month, dropping 1.6 percent in August to 107.7--the lowest level since April, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which compiles the index, reported Thursday. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the drop was expected as a consequence of buyers accelerating purchase decisions while mortgage rates were first increasing.

Builders lowered prices and buyers responded in August, pushing new home sales up 7.9 percent to 421,000, reversing almost half of July's 64,000 drop in sales, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The report for August showed a slight shift away from higher-priced homes as houses priced at $500,000 or more accounted for 9 percent of August sales, down from 12 percent in July. Homes priced at $300,000 or less represented 63 percent of all August sales, unchanged from July.

In a blog for the company, Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko posits his own theory for why new construction is moving so slowly.