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Tag Archives: Homebuilders

Commentary: No News Is…

Sometimes a story just fits--and sometimes it doesn't. Given that maxim, the explanation from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for the drop in the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for February has to be viewed with a jaundiced eye. According to the NAR, the PHSI dropped because of the low inventory of homes for sale. Of course, that wasn't offered as an explanation one month earlier, when the inventory of homes for sale dropped, and the PHSI increased.

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GDP Growth More Positive in Revised Report

Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday. The report, coming just three days before the end of the first quarter, was an improvement over the first two GDP reports that showed the economy contracted by 0.1 percent then improved by 0.1 percent. The main drag on the fourth quarter economy--as it had been in the previous two fourth-quarter reports--continued to be government spending.

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Capital Economics Examines Housing Recovery’s Impact on Growth

While the economy has already seen a slight bump from homebuilding, researchers from Capital Economics contend the burgeoning recovery may provide even greater lift to gross domestic product (GDP). In the firm's latest U.S. Economic Update, senior U.S. economist Paul Dales says the recovery in residential building contributed 0.3 percentage points to last year's 2.2 percent rise in GDP. In addition, recent developments have further highlighted the impact of the recovery on the larger economy.

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Builder Confidence Slips to 5-Month Low as Prices Fall

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.

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Commentary: Budget Pains

It's been two weeks since the dreaded sequester took effect, and so far, the only casualty has been the White House tour. There actually have been some positives, with both parties presenting budgets. However, both the GOP budget and the Democratic plan have one major similarity: Each is dead on arrival and destined to at best be a one-house budget, which leaves the country back where it was. Setting a target for practical balance would bring us closer to reducing the deficit and with less pain.

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NAHB Survey Reveals Consumer Home Preferences

While more than 90 percent of homes purchased in 2011 were existing homes, more than half of homebuyers declared a preference for new homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Characteristics of Home Buyers, an analysis of the 2011 American Housing Survey conducted by the Census Bureau. Along with their preference for new homes, survey respondents expressed a desire for energy-efficient homes. According to NAHB, these two qualities go hand-in-hand.

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Construction Spending Declines 2.1% in January

Construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $883.3 billion January, a 2.1 percent monthly drop, the Census Bureau reported Friday. January's figure sits 7.1 percent above January 2012's spending estimate of $824.7 billion. December's estimate was revised upward to $902.6 billion from an originally reported $885.0 billion. Residential construction spending in the private sector was an estimated $304.6 billion, essentially flat month-over-month and up 22.0 percent year-over-year.

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