Pent-up demand, moderating interest rates and a lack of existing inventory helped push single-family starts in February to their highest level since April 2022. Overall housing starts increased 10.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The…
Read MoreTag: interest rates
The Tide Has Turned
The Fed has said it: interest rates are coming down. Fed Chairman Jay Powell surprised markets in early December when he announced, somewhat unexpectedly, that the Fed was not planning to raise rates any further, and, in fact, was projecting three rate cuts in 2024 now that inflation has cooled. Surprisingly, the Fed’s quarterly economic projections released in December, the…
Read MoreDodge Momentum Index Declines in July
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, declined 0.9% in July to 193.4 (2000=100) from the revised June reading of 195.1. Over the month, the commercial component of the DMI remained relatively flat, ticking down 0.2%, while the institutional component fell 1.9%. The DMI is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in…
Read MoreEquipment Finance Outlook
By Mark S. Kuhar In what is likely to be a more challenging year for both the economy and the equipment finance industry, the 2023 forecast for equipment and software investment growth is 4.2%, according to the 2023 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook. The report released by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation also forecasts sluggish U.S. GDP…
Read MoreHousing Permits Decline in March
The single-family housing market continued to show signs of softening in March as permits and starts declined due to rising mortgage interest rates and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks that continue to delay construction projects and raise home building costs. Due to strong multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.79 million units, according…
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