Tag Archives: Homebuilders

The nation's economy grew at a "modest to moderate pace" from early April through the end of May, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The report cited growing strength in the housing and residential construction sector and the impact on the broader economy, with residential real estate and construction activity increasing "at a moderate to strong pace in all Districts." In addition, "overall bank lending improved modestly since the previous report."

A Census report released Monday put construction spending at an estimated annual rate of $860.8 billion (seasonally adjusted) in April, a 0.4 percent rise from March's revised estimate of $857.7 billion. Spending on homebuilding was at an estimated yearly rate of $308.3 billion in April, 0.2 percent down from March but 18.3 percent above April 2012. The report is consistent with the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index, which dropped in April as builders contended with low credit availability and rising costs.

The last time both prices and sales of new homes increased in the same month was last September. What of course is missing from the two data sets is any indication of demand.

The price of a new single-family home soared to a record high in April as sales jumped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected April sales to increase to 425,000 from March's originally reported 417,000. March sales were revised to 444,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, soared $20,900 (8.3 percent) in April to $271,600, the highest price on record.

Though residential construction "is keeping the economy on an expansionary path," Moody's Analytics suggests that homebuilders are having a tough time shouldering the burden of growth on their own.

The juice that will fuel the economic recovery is housing, or more specifically, new home sales, Freddie Mac stated in its economic and housing market outlook report for May.

In sharp contrast to reports of improving builder confidence, housing starts plunged at the steepest rate in more than two years in April.

The National Association of Home Builders├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó (NAHB) 55 single-family Housing Market Index (HMI) jumped year-over-year for the sixth consecutive quarter in Q1, the association reported. As of the end of March, the index rested at 46, 19 points above the same period last year and the highest first-quarter number recorded since the inception of the index in 2008. There are two separate 55+ HMIs to represent two segments of the market: single-family homes and multifamily condominiums.

In the latest in its Transition to "Normal" series, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research group examines the residential construction sector.

According to NAHB, the number of housing markets showing "sustained improvement" fell to 258 from April's 273.