Sales of new homes have continued to reach new heights, increasing by 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted rate of a little more than 1 million for August – the first time new home sales had eclipsed that mark since 2006. Compared to the same period a year earlier, sales surged 43.2%, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau on ... READ MORE >
Real Estate
Real estate and the middle market go hand in hand. Developers in commercial, residential and industrial markets provide the economic fuel to transform local economies, building infrastructure that leads to new business and job creation.
CHART OF THE DAY: As housing market heats up, inventory shrivels
Existing home sales in August topped 6 million for the first time since 2006 as big-city renters continued to flock to the suburbs for more space, including a home office and a yard to accommodate their new normal. Meanwhile, existing homeowners are hesitant to put their houses on the market, given uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic and fears ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Housing starts decline 5.1%
Housing starts declined 5.1% month over month in August, while forward-looking building permits held steady with a slight decline of .9%, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. This brings the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts to 1.4 million and permits to nearly 1.5 million. Fueled by low interest rates and the recent migration to ... READ MORE >
Chart of the Day: New home sales rise as housing stays hot
Sales of new homes continue to soar, increasing by 13.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 901,000 for the month of July, and up 36.3% from the same period a year earlier, according to data released this week from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales are up 8% year over year. We expect this trend ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home sales surge
Existing home sales surged in July by the most on record, increasing 24.7% from June to a 5.86 million annualized rate. The housing market has been booming as a result of low mortgage rates, which have been hovering around 3%, pent up demand from millennials who have been entering the housing market, and an increased interest in suburban markets following ... READ MORE >
FHA mortgage delinquencies show some homeowners in trouble
Federal Housing Administration mortgage delinquencies hit an all-time, four-decade high, according to data released on Monday, a sign that disadvantaged homebuyers are clearly struggling in the pandemic-impacted economy. The share of FHA mortgage delinquencies rose to almost 16% in the second quarter, the highest level since 1979, as reported by the ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Home builder optimism reaches record high
Many industries are still recuperating from the impact of the pandemic, but housing has been fortunate to experience a V-shaped recovery. Not only has the Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it has now matched December 1998 for an all-time high in the index’s 35-year history. All three index ... READ MORE >
Hotel occupancy data: It’s only half the story
Hotel occupancy is typically measured by the consistent supply of rooms, and on the surface recent numbers have been looking favorable. Occupancy was up to 49.9% in the week ended Aug. 8, up from 48.9% a week earlier, and 45.9% a month earlier. But given that the pandemic has forced closures of many U.S. hotels, and that reported occupancy rates ... READ MORE >
Laying the foundation for construction’s IT future
The construction industry has seen gains in employment since April, despite overall declines in spending, as workers were brought back to complete necessary emergency projects and jobs begun prior to the pandemic. For the month of July, total construction employment increased a modest 0.3% to 7.2 million, up from an April low of 6.6 million. While ... READ MORE >
An SOS for commercial real estate
As the length and severity of the coronavirus pandemic continue to wreak havoc on the economy, real estate deals are at best being reworked and at worst falling apart altogether. The data tells a clear story: Transactions are down almost 70% in the second quarter, according to Real Capital Analytics (RCA), a commercial real estate research firm, ... READ MORE >