Housing starts and permits inched up in March due to a boost from multifamily homes, beating market forecasts for significant declines in both series. New residential starts rose 0.3% on the month to a 1.79 million annualized rate, the highest since 2006. Building permits, an indicator of future ... READ MORE >
housing
Real estate and construction industry outlook: Spring 2022
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the real estate industry has shown significant opportunity and resilience. Hospitality has been sustained by the revival of leisure travel, as customers once again embark on vacations. While corporations still exercise caution over business travel, signs of the sector’s ... READ MORE >
Multi-family dwellings drive Canada building permit value up 8.2%
The value of building permits in Canada grew to CA$10.14 billion in September, an 8.2% increase compared to August, driven by the increasing value of multi-family residential permits, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. That growth marks a reversal from the drop in residential ... READ MORE >
Americans spent more on building homes than on building anything else for the first time in 14 years
In another sign of the housing market’s continued strength, U.S. spending on residential buildings—both private and public—increased by 0.4% in August to $795.5 billion, while nonresidential spending declined by 0.4% to $788.6 billion, on a seasonally adjusted annual rate. The data points directly ... READ MORE >
North American housing markets remain bullish
In spite of the pandemic, the U.S. and Canadian housing markets have seen significant growth over the past year as individuals and families stuck in apartments were driven to the suburbs in search of bigger homes with space to live, work and play. In addition to a rise in demand for single-family housing, ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home sales slump but market remains hot
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 ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home supply lags demand and spike in real estate agents
Demand for residential property is high as individuals and families located in dense urban areas or states with heavy COVID-19 lockdown protocols consider the South and West as locations for vacation homes. As a result, the existing home supply is in short order; in February, the most recent month for ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: New home sales cool as inventory remains limited
New single-family home sales dropped 3.5% from August to September as the robust market began to cool heading into the fall months, the Commerce Department reported on Monday. The decline was expected after the heightened pace of sales over the summer, with many urban renters fleeing to the suburban ... READ MORE >
There is no cooling the housing market as homebuilder confidence surges
The U.S. homebuilder confidence index continues to reach new heights, rising to 85 in October, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders released on Monday. The reading was stronger than the median forecast of 83, marking the sixth straight month that the index has exceeded 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 ... READ MORE >