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US Home Sales, Prices, Ownership Rates: May, June, 2Q 2017
According to the US Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey, released Thursday the US homeownership rate was 63.7 per cent in 2Q 2017, which is statistically no different from its last quarter reading of 63.6 per cent. The rate of homeownership appears to be stabilizing after reaching a cycle low of 62.9 per cent in 2Q…
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US Housing Starts, Home Prices: June 2017
Residential construction in the US ended 2Q 2017 on a stronger note as ground-breaking on new homes rebounded in June to the fastest annualized pace in four months, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. Housing starts in June jumped 8.3 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the highest level since…
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US Apartment Market Tightness Index: 2Q 2017
All four indexes of the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC) July Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions, released Thursday, remained slightly below the breakeven level of 50, the fourth consecutive quarter, indicating softening conditions. The Market Tightness (43), Sales Volume (47), Equity Financing (46), and Debt Financing (47) Indexes all improved from April, but still…
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US Home Builders Report Lumber Shortages: May 2017
According to the May 2017 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, out Tuesday, the availability of building materials, especially framing lumber, significantly jumped on the list of homebuilder concerns, revealing that 21 per cent of single-family builder respondents reported a shortage of framing lumber. US LUMBER SHORTAGES: MAY 2017 This is a striking…
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US Residential Construction Spending and Investment: May and 1Q 2017
National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census Construction Spending Wednesday data shows that total private residential construction spending in the US fell -0.6 per cent in May, the first decline after a strong start this year and the largest one since June 2014. Elsewhere, final estimates of 1Q 2017 GDP growth (revised up two-tenths…
