Tag Archives: National Association of Home Builders

The latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index released in mid-May reports that about two-thirds of new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2015 were affordable to families that earned $65,800, which is the U.S. median yearly income, according to NAHB

The market share for built-for-rent homes increased following the financial crisis of 2008, despite a share higher than the historical average in Q1, the total numbers overall are low. This particular measure includes only single-family homes that are built and rented out; it does not include homes that are sold to another party to rent.

Despite the gains for the housing market this spring, the Census Bureau reported that homeownership nationwide had fallen to 63.7 percent in Q1, its lowest level since the 1990s, with ongoing declines happening primarily among households under age 45.

In the third estimate for the nation's fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth recently released, housing retained a 15.25 percent share of the 2.2 percent GDP growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

June sales received a slight upward revision to a rate of 422,000, while May sales were also bumped up in a second revision to 454,000—still far below the 504,000 originally reported by the government.

According to a report issued by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average size of a new home is increasing, and the population of buyers may be the main reason for the average home's expanding size. Data culled from the Census Bureau and presented at NAHB's International Builder's Show in Las Vegas showed some interesting trends in new home production.

The National Association of Home Builders released new figures from their Leading Markets Index (LMI), revealing 58 out of approximately 350 metro areas have either returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity. The index’s nationwide score registered at .87, meaning economic and housing activity is running at 87 percent of normal levels.

Housing affordability took a hit in the third quarter--the result of climbing interest rates and recovering home prices. According to an industry index assessing consumers' opportunities for homeownership, families earning the national median income of $64,400 in the July-September period could afford 64.5 percent of the new and existing homes sold during that time. That's down from 69.3 percent in the second quarter, marking the biggest index decline since Q2 2004.

Builders lowered prices and buyers responded in August, pushing new home sales up 7.9 percent to 421,000, reversing almost half of July’s 64,000 drop in sales, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to rise to 425,000 from July’s originally reported 394,000.

Led by the strongest gain for single-family construction this, year, the pace of housing starts edged up 0.9 percent in August, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday. Total housing permits though declined 4.8 percent despite a surge in filings for single-family homes.