Single-family production remained at an anemic pace in February as builders continue to wrestle with elevated mortgage rates, high construction costs and tightening credit conditions that threaten to be exacerbated by recent turmoil in the banking system. Led by gains in apartment construction, overall housing starts in February increased 9.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units,…
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January Housing Starts Decrease 4.5%
Although rising builder sentiment indicates a turning point for housing later this year, lackluster single-family production in January is a sign that the housing sector faces further challenges, as elevated mortgage rates and high construction costs continue to put a damper on the market. Overall housing starts decreased 4.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according…
Read MoreShortages Start to Ease
We have all suffered through the shortages and supply chain disruptions the pandemic thrust upon the global economy and threw manufacturing and retail inventories into a tizzy. But we are now witnessing the easing of shortages as ports become unclogged, factory workers return to their production jobs, and trucking and rail is stabilizing. For the aggregates industry, the shortages were…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Increase 2.3%
While new home sales posted a modest gain in December, elevated mortgage rates and higher construction costs continue to hinder housing affordability and put a damper on consumer demand. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 2.3% to a 616,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in November, according to newly released data by the…
Read MoreSingle-Family Starts Edge Higher as Multifamily Production Weakens
Single-family housing starts posted a double-digit percentage gain in December, but production is running well below a rate of 1 million units annually, indicating ongoing weakness in the housing market as high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to present affordability challenges. It takes 400 tons of aggregates to construct the average modern home, according to the National Stone,…
Read MoreNovember New Home Sales Up as Interest Rates Fall Back
While new home sales received a slight bounce in November from moderating mortgage rates, the housing market continues to struggle because of ongoing supply chain disruptions, elevated construction costs and challenging affordability conditions. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November increased 5.8% to a 640,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of…
Read MoreSingle-Family Housing Starts Continue to Fall
Single-family housing starts continued to fall in November, with the pace of construction down 32% since February when mortgage rates began to rise. The housing market continues to weaken because stubbornly high construction costs, elevated interest rates and flagging demand are harming housing affordability. And with the count of multifamily units under construction reaching a near 50-year high, multifamily permit…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Fall Back in September
Rising mortgage rates approaching 7% along with declining builder sentiment stemming from stubbornly high construction costs and weakening consumer demand pushed new-home sales down at a double-digit rate in September. Following a brief uptick in August, sales of newly built, single-family homes in September fell 10.9% to a 603,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the…
Read MoreNew Home Sales Up but Rising Rates Portend Weakening Market
A brief decline in mortgage rates helped to boost new home sales in August but sales are expected to move on a downward trend in the months ahead as rates have since moved higher and builder sentiment continues to fall due to declining housing affordability and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in August increased 28.8%…
Read MoreHousing Starts Weaken in July
A sharp decline in single-family home construction is another indicator that the housing slowdown is showing no signs of abating, as rising construction costs, elevated mortgage rates and supply chain disruptions continue to act as a drag on the market. Overall housing starts fell 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units in July, according to a…
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