Tag Archives: Census Bureau

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 1.5 percent to 105.7 in March, the highest level in almost three years, the group reported.

After experiencing the sharpest drop in two years in February, new home sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 in March, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected March sales to increase to 419,000 from a February's originally reported 411,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census-HUD report, plunged $17,900 (or 6.8 percent) in March to $247,000, the largest month-over-month decline since February 2011.

What do you do when you find out Santa Claus doesn't exist? That's the situation House Budget Committee Chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) faces now.

Housing starts jumped 7.0 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,036,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Tuesday. Multifamily starts (which increased 31.1 percent) accounted for all of March's gains, while single-family starts actually declined 4.8 percent. While the trajectory for both starts and permits shows a clear increasing pattern as the recovery marches on, residential construction activity remains far below pre-recession levels.

With the price of a new home barely above year-ago levels, builder confidence fell for the third straight month in April, dropping two points to 42.

Construction spending rose 1.2 percent month-over-month in February, according to the Census Bureau. Spending rose both in the public and private sectors. On an annual basis, construction spending was up 7.9 percent in February, reaching an annual rate of $885.1 billion. Combined, construction spending in January and February totaled $120.1 billion, which is 6.6 percent above the spending observed in the first two months of last year.

New home sales fell 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 in February, the sharpest drop in two years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a smaller drop to 425,000 from January's originally reported sales of 437,000. January sales were revised down to 431,000. The sharp drop in sales combined with a steep price increase suggests builders are facing some price pushback from buyers for new homes even as supplies of existing single-family homes remain at historic lows.

Housing permits rose a sharp 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000 in February, to the highest level since June 2008, while housing starts edged up 0.8 percent to 917,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Tuesday. Most--almost 62 percent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ôof the increase in permits came in applications to build multifamily units. While the comparisons are favorable, the June 2008 activity came in the midst of a steady decline in residential construction.

The Census Bureau and HUD released the results of its new 2012 Rental Housing Finance Survey, revealing that one in five American households live in multifamily rental buildings. The survey, which was conducted in the winter and early spring of 2012, found that there are nearly 2.3 million multifamily rental properties in the United States, 67 percent of which are owned by households or individuals. Among other findings: 1,337, or 59.4 percent, of multifamily rental properties examined in the survey have at least one mortgage.

Builder confidence slipped in March to 44, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Monday. Economists had expected the Housing Market Index to improve to 47 from February's reading of 46. Tighter inventories had been expected to improve confidence, but builder attitudes have also been weighed down by prices of new single-family homes. With the March report, the total index remained below 50 for the 83rd straight month.