The Real Economy Blog

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: New home sales jump 20.7% in March

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New home sales in the United States bounced back with a 20.7% increase in March after a surprising 18.2% decline in February, according to Commerce Department data released Friday. The robust gain, which came as sales surpassed 1 million for the second time this year, shows that February’s decline was most likely a weather-driven outlier when a winter ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home sales slump but market remains hot

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Sales of existing homes decreased 3.7% in March to an annual rate of 6.01 million for the second straight monthly decline, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday. But the decline was mostly driven by the dearth of inventory in the market, which continues to be below 1 million and came in at 900,000 in ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Housing is on fire

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Housing starts skyrocketed 19.4% in March to 1.739 million, blowing past expectations of 1.613 million and well above the 1.5 million long-term equilibrium, according to government data released Friday. The robust increase is a reversal from February's dip, which in hindsight appears to have been related more to the deep freeze that gripped the nation ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: New home sales drop 18.2% in February as market cools

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The housing market continued to cool off from the torrid pace of last year as bad weather and rising costs took a toll in February. New home sales fell 18.2% last month, compared to January, to a seasonally adjusted 775,000 -- a nine-month low. At the same time, median home prices eased 1% to $349,400 nationally, according to government data released on ... READ MORE >

The distressed real estate market that hasn’t materialized

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Soon after the pandemic took hold last March and economic shutdowns ensued, real estate investors began gearing up for opportunities around distressed assets. Success stories of acquisitions following the Great Recession of 2008 were abundant, fueling expectations for a repeat. Now, a year into the pandemic-induced recession, property values have not only ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: Housing market hits the brakes

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Throughout the pandemic, a bright spot in the American economy has been housing, which had incredible growth as buyers looking for more space in the suburbs took advantage of historically low interest rates. Homebuilders responded, pushing starts and permits above the projected 1.5 million long-term equilibrium rate between supply and demand during the ... READ MORE >

Building the new normal in health care

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As the health care industry works toward a new normal—a time of recovery and eventual re-emergence from the pandemic—providers are taking a hard look at their physical infrastructure and rethinking what they will need in the future. This rethinking has been prompted in no small part by the explosion of telemedicine during the pandemic and the ... READ MORE >