Tag Archives: Homebuilders

Of the nearly 350 metro markets survey in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI), the group reports 56 have returned to or exceeded their previous normal levels of economic and housing activity based on housing permits, home prices, and employment. While unchanged from NAHB's June survey, the latest index reflects a yearly increase of seven markets.

According to the latest figures released Friday from the U.S. Census new home sales, starts, and spending were down in June and for the first half of the year. Spending on private construction in June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $685.5 billion, 1 percent below the revised May estimate of $692 billion. Residential construction alone was at $356 billion, which is 0.3 percent below the revised May estimate.

According to a joint report from HUD and the Census Bureau, groundbreaking on new homes was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 893,000, a drop of 9.3 percent below May's revised annual rate of 985,000. Declines came on both sides of the market: Single-family starts came to a rate of 575,000, down 9.0 percent, according to the report, while multifamily starts fell 9.9 percent to a 318,000 rate.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) registered a score of 53 in the group's July survey, increasing four points from June. "This is the first time that builder confidence has been above 50 since January and an important sign that it is strengthening as pent-up demand brings more buyers into the marketplace," said NAHB Chair Kevin Kelly.

Construction spending edged up 0.1 percent from April to May, though private homebuilding outlays came down slightly. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction spending during May was at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $956.1 billion, just up from April's revised estimate of $955.1 billion and 6.6 percent higher than the May 2013 estimate of $896.6 billion.

According to figures released by the Census Bureau and HUD, privately owned housing starts last month were at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of just more than 1 million, down 6.5 percent from April's slightly revised estimate of 1.07 million. The government's report presented mixed news on the single-family front: While starts were down nearly 6 percent to a rate of 625,000, April construction was stronger than originally reported.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI), released Monday in collaboration with Wells Fargo, registered 49 this month, up from 45 in May. A value below 50 indicates more builders view market conditions as "poor" rather than "good." Despite falling one point short of the benchmark, the moderate uptick in sentiment "is a welcome sign and shows some renewed confidence in the industry," said NAHB chairman Kevin Kelly.

In a survey of economists, the Wall Street Journal found optimism for housing starts through the rest of the year has dropped, thanks to a slow first half. To begin the year, the consensus view among economists participating in the survey was that housing starts would jump 20 percent this year, rising to 1.11 million units from a total of 924,900 in 2013. Now, that prediction is down to 1.05 million.

Measuring new homebuilding against employment numbers—which only recently recovered from their recessionary decline—the National Association of Realtors finds that historically, there is one new home built for every 1.5 jobs added to the economy. As of the first quarter, 32 states and the District of Columbia are above that ratio, meaning job growth has far outpaced new construction over the past three years.

The Department of Commerce estimates overall construction outlays came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $953.5 billion in April, just up from March's revised $951.6 billion (originally reported at $942.5 billion). Despite the small increase, the gain brought spending levels up to their highest since March 2009.