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 ... READ MORE >
housing starts
CHART OF THE DAY: Housing market hits the brakes
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 ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Housing activity continues to surge
Home builders remain active as the housing market closed out last year in a strong fashion. Housing starts rose by 5.8% to an annualized rate of 1.67 million in December, ending the year as one of the strongest in a decade, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. And housing permits, an indicator of ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Homes for the holidays
Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays. So begins the holiday standard made famous by Perry Como. Composed in the 1950s by Robert Allen with lyrics by Al Stillman, the song seems fitting these days as Americans are lured to the suburbs, just as they were when Mr. C. was in his prime. Only this ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Homebuilder confidence reaches all-time high
Confidence among homebuilders reached an all-time high in November as buyers looking for more room to live and work continued to enter the market, according to the National Association of Homebuilders Housing Market Index released on Wednesday. The index, which rose to 90, is a composite measurement of ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Anticipation of pandemic demand for single-family homes
Even as millions of workers struggle amid the pandemic-induced downturn, certain sectors of the economy have emerged as beneficiaries from changing consumer behavior. Chief among these have been those companies that provide suburban housing to city dwellers looking for more room to live and work. In ... 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 ... READ MORE >
Housing remains a leader in the economic recovery
Housing continues to be a bright spot in the economy, with housing starts jumping 17.3% in June and housing permits rising 2.1% -- the second straight month of gains following the economic shutdowns of March and April. While the June housing data, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, may ... READ MORE >
What’s behind the resurgent housing market
With the onset of the coronavirus, a wave of uncertainty overtook the housing market and brought a swift halt to home sales and home building in March and April. But trends in May and June have shown that housing may be in the midst of a V-shaped recovery. After falling for three straight months, both ... READ MORE >
Home construction collapses under coronavirus lockdown
Housing starts plummeted 30.5% to an annualized rate of 891,000 in April as the full weight of the coronavirus lockdowns hit the sector, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. The plunge extended to permits to build, which dropped to an annualized rate of 1,074,000, representing a 20.8% ... READ MORE >