By Allen-Villere Partners THE PULSE: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MARKET ANALYSIS PIERRE-VILLERE’S MARKET ASSESSMENTIn the latest update on the construction materials industry, the AVP Pulse Index experienced a modest decline of 0.7% for the month, although it experienced a strong year-ever-year growth of 5.5%. Over the past 36 months, the index increased impressively by 13.7%, indicating sustained strength within the sector. Notably, industry stocks continue to…
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New Home Sales Up at the Start of 2024
Stable mortgage rates at the beginning of 2024 helped new home sales to increase in January. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January increased 1.5% to a 661,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in December, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The…
Read MoreHousing Stock Is Getting Older
A confluence of events around the housing market seems to portend that America’s shortfall in available homes will persist. Certainly, the higher interest rates of the past two years have made it harder to qualify for a mortgage, coupled with housing prices that just seem to continue to rise, even in the face of the headwinds of higher interest rates,…
Read MoreHousing Demand Has Jumped
The popular business press, including the cable news channels, are awash in reports that housing demand has already jumped on just the notion of rate cuts later this year, and the jump is expected to become a surge as I have been predicting. Remember, I have said for the last several months that when the Fed signaled inflation was headed…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Bounce Back in December on Lower Mortgage Rates
Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised reading in November, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Down in November
Elevated mortgage rates acted as a drag on new home sales in November, but with the peak rate cycle apparently in the rear-view mirror, sales are expected to rise as we move into the new year. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November fell 12.2% to a 590,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the…
Read MoreLack of Resales Boost New Home Sales in September
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in September increased 12.3% to a 759,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in September was up 33.9% from a year ago.It takes 400 tons of aggregates to construct the average…
Read MoreSingle-Family Starts Post Unexpected Gain in September
Despite elevated mortgage rates averaging above 7%, single-family starts posted a solid gain in September as more buyers are turning to new homes because of a dearth of inventory in the resale market. Overall housing starts increased 7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing…
Read MoreHousing Starts Lower on Rising Mortgage Rates
Higher mortgage rates averaging above 7% put a damper on single-family production in August, as builders also continue to face supply-side challenges in the form of elevated construction costs, a lack of skilled labor and a shortage of buildable lots. Led by a sharp decline in multifamily production, overall housing starts fell 11.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Increase in July
Low existing inventory and solid demand more than offset rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs to boost new home sales last month. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in July increased 4.4% to a 714,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in June, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…
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