Eye on EconomyHome Starts Pause and Existing Sales Rise

July 24, 2014

eyeonhousing.org

Existing Home Sales2

• Monthly pace of existing home sales increased 2.6% in June

• Third consecutive monthly gain in sales

• Share of first-time buyers remains below historical averages

• Share of distressed sales are down

• Read more here

Housing Starts3

• Pace of housing construction slowed in June

• Census Bureau & HUD – total housing starts fell 9.3%

• The South experienced most of decline

• Read more here

Construction Jobs4

• Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal an increase in unfilled construction jobs

• Openings increased 38,000 between April and May

• May count: 3rd highest since end of The Great Recession

• Read more here

Housing Market Index5

• Builder sentiment points to more positive conditions

• Housing Market Index rose four points

• First time since January the HMI was above 50 points

• Census report noted that single-family permits were up for the month

• Read more here

Producer Price Index6

• Producer prices increased 1.9% over 12 months

• Monthly building material changes

• Softwood lumber declined 0.8%

• OSB rose 3.9%

• Gypsum rose 3.0%

• Read more here

Consumer Price Index7

• Month-over-month increase of 0.3% (seasonally adjusted)

• Real Rent Index increased 1.2% over the past year

• Read more here

FOMC minutes8

• NAHB expects the FED to raise interest rates in third quarter of 2015

• Asset purchase program winds down

• Central bank is not on a pre-set course

• Monitoring economic variable as it sets future policy

• Read more here

Renewable Energy & Green Certifications

9

• NAHB economists examined recent trends in power production property

• Geothermal installations leading for single-family homes

• Solar panels are a close second

• National Green Building Standard is leading certification system

• Read more about installations here

• Read more about certifications here

Housing Starts: 5,000+ Square Foot Homes

10

• Market share of new home starts larger than 5,000 sq ft is 3%

• Mirrors recent rend of rising median home size

• Likely due to market weakness among entry-level buyers

• Read more here

Affordable Housing Credit11

• LIHTC supports approximately 96,000 jobs

• Due to development and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing

• Read more here