Tag Archives: Housing Starts

Following a four-point uptick in November, the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index dropped one point to 57 in December, the group said Monday. A reading above 50 indicates that market conditions are viewed more as good than bad.

Looking at the year ahead, Fitch predicts a bounce in both supply and demand for homes as the economy continues to steadily expand and both employment measures and consumer confidence see improvement. With housing starts and new home sales expected to advance, Fitch sees a possibility of higher revenues for homebuilders.

In a survey of 45 economists conducted by the Wall Street Journal, the panel largely agreed that throughout all of 2014, housing proved to be the weakest link in the economic chain, with weak household formations weighing down on demand and production.

In its latest Beige Book—a catalog of economic reports from contacts across all 12 Fed districts—the central bank noted that "national economic activity continued to expand in October and November."

Dodge Data & Analytics reported a 4 percent drop in the value of new construction starts last month, estimating groundbreaking at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $589.8 billion. The decline followed a 10 percent increase in September, which was the strongest month for total construction starts so far this year.

According to a report released by the Commerce Department, groundbreaking on new housing projects was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.01 million last month, a drop of 2.8 percent from September's upwardly revised estimate of 1.04 million. Meanwhile, permit issuance for new housing units was at a rate of 1.08 million, a six-year high for that figure.

For months, NAHB has been reporting that recovery in the national and in most metro markets is inching its way back to normal levels. The latest report virtually mirrors the LMI report released in August, which stated that 56 of 350 metros were at or better than normal, and the national housing market overall was 89 percent of where it should be.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending throughout September came in at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $950.9 billion, down 0.4 percent from August but up 2.9 percent from a year ago.

According to a joint release from the Commerce Department and HUD, homebuilders broke ground on new projects at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.02 million last month, 6.3 percent above August's revised estimate of 957,000 (just barely up from the government's initial estimate).

According to the latest Trulia Housing Barometer, while home prices, sales, and delinquency rates are all most of the way back to normal, new construction starts and a poor employment rate among young adults are snagging full economic recovery. However, all five indicators have improved year-over-year, if slightly in some areas.