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NAHB Eye on Housing

Again, Credit for Builders Tightens While Rates Decline

Thursday August 13th, 2020 03:53:00 PM
Paul Emrath

Builders and developers responding to NAHB’s survey on financing for Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C) indicated that credit continued to become tighter in the second quarter of 2020. The net tightening index derived from the survey came in at 12.0, after reaching an 8 1/2-year high of 22.7 in the first quarter. The index is constructed so that positive numbers… Read More ›

Initial Jobless Claims Fall Below 1 Million for the First Time Since Mid-March

Thursday August 13th, 2020 02:28:48 PM
Jing Fu

Weekly initial jobless claims decreased below 1 million in the week ending August 8. Continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, has declined for two weeks in a row. It is encouraging to see decreases in both jobless claims and continuing claims. More people are returning to work and the labor market is recovering gradually from the… Read More ›

Amid Record Low Rates, Refinancing Flourishes

Wednesday August 12th, 2020 07:30:36 PM
Litic Murali

Over the last two weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s tracked 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average rate fell by 14 basis points to 3.06%, a new record low in the series. At the same time, the results from its Weekly Application Survey show both weekly and year-over-year percentage increases in purchasing and refinancing activities. On a seasonally adjusted basis, purchasing activity increased… Read More ›

Gain for the “Core” CPI in July

Wednesday August 12th, 2020 02:48:34 PM
Jing Fu

In July, overall inflation remained unchanged from the previous month, while core inflation accelerated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in June. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, “core” CPI rose by 0.6% in July, after an increase… Read More ›

Softwood Lumber Costs Up Nearly 30% Over Three Months, Push Building Materials Prices Higher in July

Tuesday August 11th, 2020 07:50:46 PM
David Logan

Prices paid for goods used in residential construction continued their upward trend in July, increasing 1.8% (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the third consecutive monthly increase since the index declined three months straight by a total 5.4%. The index has decreased 1.3% year-to-date (YTD), a larger… Read More ›

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Construction Hiring Continued in June

Monday August 10th, 2020 04:00:54 PM
Robert Dietz

After an accelerated pace of layoffs in March and April, construction sector hiring roared back in May and continued at somewhat reduced pace in June, per data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). In May, the hiring rate increased to 9.7%, after a subdued 3.7% rate in April. This was the strongest rate of hiring in… Read More ›

Nonrevolving Debt Fuels June Consumer Credit

Monday August 10th, 2020 03:14:42 PM
Litic Murali

The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows trends in consumer credit, excluding loans secured by real estate, through June 2020. In June, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6% from the previous month, with revolving debt1 decreasing by 2.8% and nonrevolving debt2 increasing by 4.3 percent. Consumer credit totaled $4.1 trillion on a seasonally… Read More ›

Job Market Gains Continue

Friday August 7th, 2020 04:06:39 PM
Jing Fu

Surpassing recent dampened expectations, total payroll employment rose by 1.8 million and the unemployment rate declined to 10.2% in July. The U.S. labor market continues to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Residential construction employment rose by 24,000 in July to 2.8 million. Total construction industry (both residential and nonresidential) employment rebounded to nearly 7.2 million in July. It is worth… Read More ›

Initial and Continuing Claims Decline

Thursday August 6th, 2020 03:10:33 PM
Jing Fu

Weekly initial jobless claims decreased in the week ending August 1 after two weeks of increases. Continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, dropped by 844,000 in the week ending July 25. Although jobless claims remain at historically high levels, the decreases in initial jobless claims and continuing claims indicate that labor market is recovering gradually from… Read More ›

Housing Affordability Hits 18-Month Low on Lack of Supply, Higher Prices

Thursday August 6th, 2020 12:30:53 PM
Rose Quint

Despite low interest rates, a supply shortage coupled with rising home prices contributed to a decline in housing affordability in the second quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 59.6 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable… Read More ›

CNN – Real Estate News

Should I get a fixed- or adjustable-rate mortgage?

Wednesday August 8th, 2018 02:19:25 PM

Read full story for latest details.

Toll Brothers’ record shows the housing boom has no end in sight

Tuesday August 21st, 2018 04:35:35 PM

Read full story for latest details.

What will your monthly mortgage payment be?

Monday February 2nd, 2015 03:53:13 PM

In the market for a new home? Or planning to refinance? Find out what your monthly payment will be.

Looking for a home in Berlin or Budapest? Prepare to pay more

Tuesday July 17th, 2018 11:28:00 AM

Europe took 11 of the top 20 spots on a ranking of cities with the largest price increases in the first quarter, according to global property agency Knight Frank.