Although there are still problem areas, Freddie Mac’s latest monthly outlook shows many reasons for optimism, with “housing markets on track for their best year in a decade ...
Read More »Construction of Large Homes Drops
While 2015 saw the most growth in the construction of 5,000+ square foot homes since the housing bubble, 2016 saw a significant drop-off. We analyze what this means for the national housing market.
Read More »Home Values Disconnecting from Construction Costs
Issi Romem, Chief Economist at BuildZoom, released a study on Tuesday titled “Paying For Dirt: Where Have Home Values Detached From Construction Costs?” The study focuses on the ...
Read More »The Housing and Construction Conundrum
The construction industry is lagging behind despite home prices being close to pre-recession peaks. Homebuilders say labor shortage is to blame, but income for workers hasn’t changed since 2006. If they increase wages, then home prices would go beyond buyers reach. So what can be done?
Read More »Is Your Area Considered “Tough to Build”?
Though some would believe that the hardest places to build would be where permits and proposals are constantly denied, this isn’t the case. Take a look at some of the hardest places to build in the U.S.
Read More »Big Cities are Running Out of Space
Cities are starting to run out of space. Especially space-constrained cities like New York have started to run out of room for builders, leading them to move to city-center areas where high-density building is allowed, and charging much higher prices for it. Builders are focusin more on high end apartments with better profit margins, leaving only the wealthiest residents as the ones who can buy.
Read More »The Week Ahead: Low Construction’s Impact on Sales
On Tuesday, at 10 a.m. EST, the U.S. Census Bureau along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release the New Residential Sales Report for April 2017. With construction activity droppping off slightly, how will sales react?
Read More »Low Inventory Impacted by Stagnant Home Starts
The Department of Housing and Urban Development along with the U.S. Census Bureau released their April New Residential Construction Activity Report on Tuesday. Year-over-year, Permits, Starts and Completions increased 5.7 percent, barely increased 0.7 percent and increased 15.1 percent respectively. However, number shave fallen month-over-month.
Read More »The Week Ahead: Watching Market Conditions Following Unusual Highs
This week, the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo will release their latest Housing Market Index (HMI) for May, a measure of market conditions based on three factors, with a range of zero to 100. While the March HMI was unusually high, reaching 71, April stayed steady at 65. All three individual components (present single family sales, next six-month single family sales, and prospective buyer traffic) reported losses month over month, but were still strong.
Read More »Looser Zoning Regulations Crucial to Economic Growth
According to new analysis, loosening zoning regulations in the nation's most productive cities could help spur economic growth. These regulations are keeping developers from building new housing opportunities. Ultimately, this restricts Americans to more affordable, smaller cities where they're less productive.
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