Eye On HousingInitial Jobless Claims Fall to 787,000Weekly initial jobless claims decreased for the week ending October 17, and continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, fell for the week ending October 10. The decreases in initial and continuing claims partially reflect that labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit slowly. Also, as unemployment benefits are […]Existing Home Sales Surge Despite Record-Low SupplyBoosted by historically low mortgage rates, existing home sales, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), rose for a fourth consecutive month in September and reached its highest level in more than 14 ½ years. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual […]COVID-19 Has Impacted Home Purchasing PlansAccording to NAHB’s latest Housing Trends Report, the share of Americans who are considering the purchase of a home in the next 12 months was 13% in the third quarter of 2020, one percentage point higher than a year earlier and the first year-over-year gain in the 3-year history of this series. The gain shows […]Refinancing Remains RobustThe Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Application Survey shows that, for the week ending October 16, 2020, mortgage application activity decreased by 0.6% from the prior week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as indicated by its Market Composite Index. One of its two constituent indexes, the Purchasing Index, decreased by 2.1% from one week earlier, […]Slower Jobs Gains in September: State-Level AnalysisNonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states in September compared to the previous month. The largest increase came from New York, which added 109,300 jobs during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 661,000 over the month of September, following an increase of 1.5 million jobs […]Home Building Continues Historic ClimbSingle-family starts experienced continued gains in September, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. Contrasting the different subsectors of housing, while single-family permits are showing continued strength, multifamily permits continue to weaken as a consequence of the 2020 virus crisis. The pace of single-family starts in […]Builder Confidence Continues Record ClimbIn a further show of strength for the housing sector, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased two points to 85 in October, further surpassing the previous all-time high of 83 recorded in September, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). These are the first two months the index […]Lot Values Down in 2019According to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) data, median single-family lot prices came down in 2019, breaking their relentless climb for the first time since 2013. The 2019 median lot price was $45,000, which amounts to a 9% decline since 2018, when half of the lots were selling at or […]Nation’s Stock of Second HomesAccording to NAHB estimates, the total count of second homes was 7.5 million, accounting for 5.5% of the total housing stock in 2018, the most recent data available. As of 2018, the state with the largest stock of second homes was Florida (1.1 million), accounting for 14.5% of all second homes. South Dakota had the […]Robust Gains for August Single-Family PermitsOver the first eight months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 616,856. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 6.9% increase over the August 2019 level of 576,798. Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 9.8% in the South to a decline […]
