Mon, Aug 3 2020, 4:31 PM
Construction spending held firm in June, inching down fractionally from the May level and increasing a bit compared to June 2019. The U.S. Census Bure...
Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:53 AM
One of the trends in attempts to provide more affordable housing is the growth of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as granny flats, garage apartme...
Fri, Jul 17 2020, 11:50 AM
All three measures in the Census Bureaus June residential construction report moved higher , as the building industry continued to recover from its Ap...
Tue, Jul 14 2020, 3:40 PM
The reopening of the economy in several states from the COVID-19 shutdowns has moved Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group to raise...
Mon, Jul 6 2020, 2:13 PM
Despite any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, construction spending is still largely managing to stay ahead of its 2019 levels . The U.S. Census Bure...
Mon, Jun 29 2020, 10:28 AM
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), predicted last month that April's home sales contract activity "will be...
Wed, Jun 17 2020, 10:49 AM
Residential construction numbers climbed in May after their pandemic-driven collapse in April. The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urb...
Tue, Jun 2 2020, 8:21 AM
Overall spending on construction fell in April, down 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.346 trillion from 1.387 trillion. This sti...
Tue, May 19 2020, 10:16 AM
The April residential construction numbers are, of course, horrible. But they aren't out of line with expectations, and builders did continue to plan ...
Fri, May 15 2020, 11:42 AM
Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) group says it expects the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 35 percent (annualized) i...
Mon, May 4 2020, 10:48 AM
Construction spending posted a gain in April, rising 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.36 trillion from a revised estimate of $1....
Fri, Apr 17 2020, 12:59 PM
Fannie Mae's April Economic Developments summary is, like Freddie Mac's, relatively optimistic only because they see the impact of the pandemic as bei...
Thu, Apr 16 2020, 10:41 AM
While the March residential construction report from the U.S Census Bureau is grim, one can find a small glimmer of optimism in the fact that, while h...
Fri, Apr 3 2020, 9:26 AM
Home building might be the answer to more than just the housing shortage according to some information provided by Paul Emrath, economist for the Nati...
Wed, Apr 1 2020, 11:46 AM
Nationwide outlays for construction slipped slightly in February. The Census Bureau said public and private sources spent at a seasonally adjusted ann...
Thu, Mar 19 2020, 8:10 AM
As anticipated, the two major data sets in February's residential construction report declined from their January level but both construction permitti...
Tue, Mar 3 2020, 11:01 AM
Home prices nationwide accelerated on an annual basis by 4.0 percent in January according to CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI). Annual appreciation h...
Tue, Mar 3 2020, 8:22 AM
Privately funded construction gained 1.5 percent month-over-month, from a seasonally adjusted $1.008 trillion in December to $1.023 trillion in Januar...
Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:12 AM
If it's January it must mean fewer home sales. That, at least, has been the recent pattern according to National Association of Realtors (NARs). Exist...
Wed, Feb 19 2020, 10:53 AM
Residential construction data was mixed at the kick-off of the new year. Permits increased significantly while both housing starts and completions pul...
Tue, Feb 18 2020, 3:33 PM
Fannie Mae says the U.S. economy appears to be sustaining itself despite both the problems faced by Boeing and the fears about the global impact of th...
Mon, Feb 3 2020, 12:44 PM
Total construction spending ended 2019 down slightly from the prior year. The U.S. Census Bureau said the total value of construction, both public and...
Wed, Jan 29 2020, 10:35 AM
December's pending home sales erased the small gain posted in November and the National Association of Realtors' (NAR's) Pending Home Sales Index (PHS...
Wed, Jan 22 2020, 11:00 AM
Existing home sales rose convincingly in December, gaining 3.6 percent compared to sales the prior month. Sales of all existing home types , single-fa...
Wed, Jan 22 2020, 8:18 AM
In its first economic forecast of 2020, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group is doubling down on its late 2019 predictions. The ec...
Fri, Jan 17 2020, 10:30 AM
While permits fell from the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said December was another excep...
Tue, Jan 14 2020, 3:38 PM
Builders are struggling to construct homes that are affordable to a greater number of buyers, especially those on the entry level, and they are findin...
Tue, Jan 7 2020, 12:06 PM
While housing starts have picked up in recent months, the lack of new construction has been called a crisis by Freddie Mac , state and federal policym...
Fri, Jan 3 2020, 11:38 AM
Construction spending by both the public and the private sector grew in November, totaling a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.324 trillion dollar...
Thu, Dec 19 2019, 11:46 AM
Fannie Mae substantially revised its housing forecast this month, especially as regards new home construction. The company's Economic and Strategic Re...
Wed, Dec 18 2019, 8:08 AM
The volume of mortgage applications retreated this past week, giving back most of the gains scored during the week ended December 6 following the Than...
Tue, Dec 17 2019, 10:37 AM
The numbers for November residential construction permits and housing starts came in higher than expected , marking the second straight month of incre...
Mon, Dec 2 2019, 12:05 PM
The nation's total spending on construction projects was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.291 trillion in October, 1.1 percent higher than a...
Wed, Nov 20 2019, 9:58 AM
Applications for mortgages to purchase newly constructed homes surged in October and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is expecting that sales wi...
Wed, Nov 20 2019, 8:09 AM
Despite the Veterans' Day holiday which shortened the work week of November 15, purchase mortgage applications gained momentum. The Mortgage Bankers A...
Tue, Nov 19 2019, 1:31 PM
Fannie Mae's economists are predicting that economic growth will slow significantly in the fourth quarter to 1.6 percent. This downward revision howev...
Tue, Nov 19 2019, 10:04 AM
All three of the residential construction measures tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development roared back i...
Mon, Nov 4 2019, 8:08 AM
Total expenditures on construction in the U.S. moved slightly higher in September but is lagging behind year-earlier figures. The annual losses are co...
Fri, Nov 1 2019, 8:25 AM
Freddie Mac's end-of-the-month forecast for October was exceptionally brief, perhaps in recognition that it has all been said before. The economy is s...
Fri, Oct 18 2019, 11:11 AM
Even though the pace of home building remains below where the industry would like it to be, Fannie Mae says it helped drive residential fixed investme...
Thu, Oct 17 2019, 10:20 AM
After posting some of the best results in a year the previous month, all three construction indicators fell back in September . The U.S. Census Bureau...
Tue, Oct 1 2019, 5:27 PM
Overall construction spending has been virtually static for much of the year. The Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that it had risen by 0.1 percent f...
Tue, Oct 1 2019, 10:56 AM
Despite expecting an economic slowdown as reflected in the gross domestic product (GDP), Freddie Mac published a pretty upbeat September forecast as t...
Mon, Sep 30 2019, 8:47 AM
The final day of Q3 already… Aside from F1 drivers, did you know that Ferrari employees are not allowed to buy Ferrari cars? The exotic car market cer...
Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:16 AM
Pending home sales resumed their upward trajectory in August after declining 2.5 percent in July, making for positive results in three of the last fou...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 8:38 AM
Fannie Mae says consumer spending will continue to support the economy. The company's Economic Summary for September cites increases in auto and retai...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 10:23 AM
August turns out to have been among the year's strongest periods for residential construction. While analysts had expected builders to shake off some ...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 8:25 AM
This morning I find myself in Pittsburgh, PA for the MBA of Southwest Pennsylvania . (Yes, I am bound for lunch at Primanti Brothers.) It turns out th...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 11:20 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is anticipating an increase in new home sales in August. The organization's Builder Application Survey found th...
Thu, Sep 5 2019, 9:16 AM
Construction spending inched up by 0.1 percent in July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.289 trillion compared to $1.288 trillion in June. T...
