New housing starts on private residences in November came in 3% below the October estimate of 888,000 starts, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While the estimated percentage was not met, analysts with Econoday, an economy announcement company said, “the November slowdown is a minor pullback after strong gains the prior two months.” Econoday analysts suggested the recent decrease in housing starts can be blamed on slow construction in many areas. Building permits grew in November with 899,000 permits filed, a 3.6% increase from October and 26.8% from last year with 709,000 filings. There were 677,000 housing completions in November, 16.1% above the November 2011 rate of 583,000 housing completions. More here
In September, new home sales reached their highest level since April 2010, when they were boosted by the homebuyer tax credit. According to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales of new single-family homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000, which is up 5.7 percent from August and 27.1 percent from last year’s estimate of 306,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in September was $242,400; the average price was $292,400. Median price is now 11.7 percent above year before levels. At the current sales pace, there was a 4.5-month supply of new homes for sale at the end of the month. More here and here.
Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show housing starts and building permits both surged in September. Privately-owned housing starts jumped 15 percent above the revised August estimate of 758,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000. The improvement puts new residential construction 34.8 percent above last year’s level. Additionally, single-family housing starts were up 11 percent for the month. Building permits, which are an indicator of future activity, also saw large gains in September. Permits were up 11.6 percent for the month and are now 45.1 percent above last September’s estimate. Single-family authorizations rose 6.7 percent. More here and here.
Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000 in June, which is 15.1 percent above last year’s rate of 304,000. But, despite the year-over-year gains, June sales were 8.4 percent below an upwardly revised May rate of 382,000. So far this year, new home sales have been higher than expected and most monthly estimates have been revised upward after their initial release. The median sales price of new homes sold in June was $232,600; the average sales price was $273,900. Also, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of the month was 144,000, which represents a 4.9-month supply at the current sales rate. More here and here.
Estimates released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce show sales of newly built single-family homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 in May. That is 7.6 percent above the revised April rate and nearly 20 percent above May 2011. The spike in sales exceeded economists’ expectations and put sales at a two-year high. The median price for a new house sold in May was $234,500; the average price was $273,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of the month was 145,000. That represents a 4.7-month supply at the current sales rate. More here and here.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Sales Report for March 2012 shows that sales of new single-family homes are up 7.5 percent over the previous year’s pace. According to the report, new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000, which is 7.1 percent below February’s revised rate of 353,000 but a significant improvement over last March’s estimate of 305,000. February’s estimate was revised up from an originally reported 313,000, making that month’s sales pace the fastest since November 2009. Also, the median sales price of new houses sold during the month was $234,500; the average sales price was $291,200. At the current sales pace, there was a 5.3 month supply of new homes available for sale at the end of March. More here.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Construction report for March shows permits to build privately-owned housing units rose 4.5 percent in March. Permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 747,000, which is 30.1 percent above last March’s estimate. But though permits were up for the month, housing starts fell 5.8 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000. Still, new residential construction is 10.3 percent above last year’s level and single-family housing starts were down just 0.2 percent for the month, which indicates the decline was due largely to a drop in multifamily construction. Also in the report, housing completions rose 4.2 percent in March. More here.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new residential construction statistics for February show housing starts down 1.1 percent from January but still nearly 35 percent above the year before. Despite the slight dip in new construction, building permits for future construction rose to their highest level since October 2008. Permits to build privately-owned housing units jumped 5.1 percent over January’s revised rate and are 34.3 percent above the February 2011 estimate. Single-family authorizations climbed 4.9 percent to a rate if 472,000, up from January’s figure of 450,000. More here.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new residential construction statistics for February show housing starts down 1.1 percent from January but still nearly 35 percent above the year before. Despite the slight dip in new construction, building permits for future construction rose to their highest level since October 2008. Permits to build privately-owned housing units jumped 5.1 percent over January’s revised rate and are 34.3 percent above the February 2011 estimate. Single-family authorizations climbed 4.9 percent to a rate if 472,000, up from January’s figure of 450,000. More here.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Sales report for November shows sales of new single-family homes rose 1.6 percent over October’s pace to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000. The improvement puts new-home sales 9.8 percent above last year’s estimate of 287,000. There were 158,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month, which represents a six-month supply at the current sales pace. The median price for a new house in November was $214,000; the average price was $242,900. More here.
