StoneDimensions

The number of American housing markets considered “improved” has topped the 200 mark, with 44 states boasting better housing business.

That’s the word from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Market Index (IMI).

Improving markets jumped 76 in December to 201, while the number of states represented on the list by at least one metro city increased from 38 to 44. The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment and housing prices for at least six consecutive months. The IMI said that a total of 84 new markets were added to the list and eight were dropped for the month.

[Read more →]

The housing market’s fragile recovery should continue into 2013 and beyond if the economy doesn’t fall off the fiscal cliff and there are not further limitations on the availability of mortgage credit.

That was the consensus of economists attending a major conference of realtors. One especially positive outlook was presented by Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, who said that the market really turned around in 2012.

“Existing home sales, new home sales and housing starts are all recording notable gains this year in contrast with suppressed activity in the previous four years. All major home price measures are showing sustained increases,” Yun said. The economist said he saw no threatening signs for inflation in the coming year, but projects it to be in the range of four to six percent by 2015.

“The huge federal budget deficit is likely to push up borrowing costs and raise inflation by well above two percent,” he said. Of particular interest to the stone industry, Yun said new home sales in 2012 are expected to increase to 368,000 this year from a record low of 301,000 in 2011, and grow strongly to 575,000 in 2013. He predicted that housing starts are forecast to grow to 776,000 in 2012, up from 612,000 in 2011, and reach 1.13 million next year. Yun also said existing home sales will climb 8.7 percent in 2013 to 5.05 million units.

[Read more →]

After wallowing in mediocrity as other segments of the economy perked up, the housing market finally appears to have stabilized and now is on a robust upward path. The outlook for remodeling, the stone industry’s other lifeline, also is looking much brighter.

With the presidential election next week, can the momentum be sustained?

The best advice would seem to be enjoy the good news and keep your fingers crossed.

As Yahoo Finance put it, housing construction numbers for September were “blowout” and “smashed consensus.” Single family starts rose 11 percent and were up nearly 43 percent from the previous year. Building permits for multi-family buildings, not condos, were up 93.4 percent from a year ago to 323,000, which was above the 10-year average of 296,000.

[Read more →]

All of the pieces seem to be coming into place for a sustained rebound of a housing market that has had the U.S. economy by the throat since the beginning of the recession.

Virtually all of the news is positive in this report.

Even before good news came on the real estate and new housing fronts (that the annual rate of builder confidence was once again positive), confidence in the market for newly built single family homes rose for a fifth consecutive month in September to a level of 40 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The three point gain brought the index to its highest reading since June 2006. (One can remember not too long ago when it was in the 20’s, with the dividing line between negative and positive being 50, which, frankly seemed like a dream.)

[Read more →]

There’s no question but that the new housing picture has brightened during the past several months, but there is still a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the economy and the housing industry as we head toward the November presidential elections. As of now, it seems, the only certainty going forward is uncertainty.

As word came out that sales of newly built, single family homes rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally rate of 372,000 in July, there was still a flurry of stories fueling anxiety about the future. This in the face of a documented current housing shortage.

In a recent web article, citing figures from the National Association of Realtors, writer Alex Charten pointed out that year-over-year figures comparing the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012, showed that existing home sales were up 8.6 percent, while the existing inventory for sale was down 24.4 per cent. Media home sale prices were up 7.3 percent.

[Read more →]

In this column we will chronicle an index produced by the National Association of Home Builders which measures the confidence level of America’s home builders and it is generally regarded as a pretty ac
curate barometer of how builders feel about the future.

Now, we find out from the Wall Street Journal that there is a pretty simple way to gauge builder sentiment without actually surveying the home building community. The measure: pickup truck sales. Under a headline “As Homes Go, So Do Pickups,” the Journal reported in a recent edition that sales of full-sized pickups in the first half of the year by the Detroit Three increased by 13 percent, to 707,175 vehicles.

“Home construction is the most important driver of light truck sales,” the article said. “Auto makers are encouraged by the latest housing indicators in June, when the rate of new home sales rose to the highest level in four years.”

[Read more →]

Most of the signs are positive that the housing market is finally headed in the right direction, but we’ve been fooled before.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 7.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted 369,000 units, according to the HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders called the increase “a welcome sign that the market has returned to a more solid growth path following lackluster reports in March and April.” He said the rise is in keeping with NAHB’s expectations for continued steady improvement through the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Barry Ruttenberg, chairman of the group said that the increase shows that more home buyers are being drawn to the market by today’s excellent mortgage rates.

Not all areas of the country were the beneficiaries of the good news. While the Northeast and South posted solid gains of 36.7 and 12.7 percent, respectively, the Midwest and West posted declines of 10.6 and 3.5 percent.

[Read more →]

There have been many hopeful signs of a housing industry rebound over the past couple of years, only to have them dashed by a spate of bad news following the good.

This time there is some real encouraging news that the housing disaster has hit bottom and a slow recovery is underway; not one that will take the housing market to the heady pre-recession days, but an upward trend with some sustainability.

As a result, builder confidence has picked up in the market for newly built single-family homes. The National Home Builders Association (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) shot up five points to reach a level of 29 in May, the strongest showing since May 2007. Realistically, the HMI has to hit 50 before more builders feel good about the future than bad. There still is a long way to go.

[Read more →]

If, in your wildest dreams, you were hoping for a rapid recovery in the housing market, forget it. A group of economists at a recent webinar on housing and the economy sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders say it’s not going to happen that way.

Instead, the experts say, that the recovery in the most downtrodden sector of the economy will be uneven and will move slowly and gradually upward in 2012.

David Crowe, chief economist for NAHB, said that while the latest monthly data have shown signs of a slight softening, this is more reflective of typical month-to-month volatility in the numbers and the unusual seasonal factors than they are an indication of any significant downward trend in the broader housing market.

[Read more →]

There is just no momentum changing news in the American housing market that would cause industry folks to say the turnaround is finally here in a big way.

Case in point, nationwide housing starts edged down 1.1 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 698,000. On the positive side, the U.S. Commerce Department said this was the second-best pace of new construction since October 2008, following an upwardly revised 706,000-unit pace in January.

“Builders are reporting increased buyer interest and are expecting demand for new homes to improve in the coming months, but continue to exercise caution regarding new projects until that interest translates into more sales contracts,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). “This process is certainly being slowed by today’s overtight lending conditions, the difficulty of obtaining accurate appraisals on new construction and competition from depressed properties that can make it tough for prospective new home buyers to sell an existing home.”

[Read more →]