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The overall housing market has been an economic laggard as the country has seen its economy rebound in the post-pandemic era. The reason for this is primarily due to an unusual combination of high interest rates AND high home prices AND limited available inventory of homes for sale. It is a triple witching that has bedeviled the housing industry in the post-pandemic era.
But is housing about to turn up?
In yet another sign that the increasing momentum down the path to economic recovery will still be a very bumpy journey, residential housing construction starts (housing starts) in April showed declines in both the overall reading for all types of homes as well as for single-family homes. While both showed double digit declines in the initial report for April, they are both still well over the readings experienced in April 2020, at the height of the rollout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s some good news! In a report by the National Association of Home Builders’ writer Fan-Yu Kuo, we learn that consumer confidence in March jumped to its highest level in a year. This is the second month of increase for consumer confidence, after a more modest increase in February. This mini-trend suggests that confidence is building in consumers about their future…after a rough year.
In the latest report on consumer confidence, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index showed a significant drop in overall confidence in the month of March. The Conference Board characterized this drop as “unexpected.” Economists are taking note of this result as March is the first full month after the partial government shutdown in February, and many had expected a more favorable reading.
The National Association of Home Builders has completed a comprehensive survey of home builders to learn what features home buyers are asking for in homes being built today. The survey, which the association conducts every year, showed a huge shift in priorities this year and reflects a fundamental shift in consumer preferences – a shift that will also impact the custom integration industry.
We were fortunate enough to receive an invitation from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) allowing us to participate in their annual Fall Construction Forecast presentation, a webinar put on for the benefit of their members last week. Boy! Are we glad we attended! Not only did the organization offer up a roster of world-class economists with really interesting insight into what’s going on in the economy – they also offered reams of really valuable data delineating the latest trends in construction.
[Read more…] about Economists Predict Rapid Ramp-Up in Residential Construction
The Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., (ABC) a builders trade association, held their third annual Mid-Year Construction Forecast presentation this week…inviting economists from three industry-related associations to present their outlook on the construction industry. This year, the invited economists included Kermit Baker (American Institute of Architects, AIA), David Crowe (National Association of Home Builders, NAHB), and their own Anirban Basu (ABC).
The economists this year were, overall, cautiously optimistic – with a heavy emphasis on caution.
The U.S.Commerce Department released new data today detailing an unexpected uptick in housing “starts” or the number of homes that had begun construction during the month of October. According to the report, starts in October increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 894,000 units or 3.6 percent higher than the revised September level of 863,000.
On Tuesday, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) held a webinar for the media called the 2012 Mid-Year Construction Forecast with presentations from some of the most powerful industry-related economists with fresh data and forecasts…and some surprises.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday released the latest report on the residential construction market – a key economic indicator for the custom integration market – and…as you might suspect with this uneven recovery we are in…the data showed yet another zag after last month’s zig. Total residential housing construction starts for the month of May were 708,000, down 4.8% from the revised April level of 723,000 units.
