Eye On HousingPending and Existing Home Sales Jump in OctoberDespite low inventory and increasing affordability concerns, both pending home sales and existing home sales jumped in October, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Though the market remains strong and sales is on pace for its strongest sales in 15 years, higher home prices continue to price out first-time and young buyers. The […]New Home Sales Flat in October After September Data RevisionContracts for new, single-family home sales were flat at a 745,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in October according to estimates from the joint release of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the flat reading was due to a significant downward revision for the September pace (revised […]Multifamily Condo Production Showing Gains?According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts declined to 93.4% during the third quarter of 2021. This is the lowest share since the first quarter of 2020. In contrast, the historical low share of 47% was set during the third quarter of 2005, during […]Single-Family Home Size Continues to Trend HigherAn expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. Recent data confirms this impact on the market continues to occur. According to third quarter 2021 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median […]Construction Loans Slightly More Available, But at Higher RatesIn the third quarter of 2021, effective interest rates increased on all four categories of loans tracked in NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C). This result reverses a general downward trend that had prevailed since the third quarter of last year. In the third quarter of 2021, the average effective rate (based on […]Gains for Custom Home BuildingNAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building matched the best quarter for construction starts since the spring of 2008 during the third quarter of 2021. There were 56,000 total custom building starts during the third quarter of the year. This marks a 5.7% gain […]Multifamily Missing Middle Production LagsThe missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, including townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. While townhouse construction has trended higher in recent quarters, the multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2 to 4 unit properties) has shown weakness. For the third quarter of 2021, there were only 2,000 starts […]Sentiment on Multifamily Production and Occupancy Improves in the Third QuarterSentiment on the production of new and occupancy in existing multifamily housing improved in the third quarter, according to the latest results from NAHB’s Multifamily Market Survey (MMS). The MMS produces two main indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased five points from the previous quarter to 53, while the Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) also […]Year-over-Year Gains for Townhouse ConstructionAccording to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction in the third quarter of 2021 continued to show year-over-year construction increases. As housing demand has shifted to more suburban and exurban areas and housing affordability headwinds persist, medium-density construction lagged for much of 2020. However, […]Interest Rate Increases Drive Refinancing DeclinesThe latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly application surveys shows a decline for refinancing and an increase in mortgage purchasing. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate increased, averaging close to 3.2 percent for the month and was 3.16 percent in the latest week. In the latest week, total mortgage applications, as proxied by the MBA’s Market […]
