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Homebuilders remain confident despite uncertainty

Nov 19, 2024
The National Association of Homebuilders reported its third straight month of improvement in its homebuilder confidence index, even though permits for new housing construction were down nearly 8% year over year.
Homebuilder Justin Wood has saved money on loans when the Fed cut interest rates. But he's also had to spend on incentives for clients wary of rising mortgage rates.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Housing permits are up for single homes but down for big apartments

Oct 18, 2024
Builders are shying away from multifamily homes because of supply and cost issues. But single-family homes are cheaper and faster to build.
Builders broke ground on about 5.5% more single-family homes in September than a year ago.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Housing construction was expected to fall in November. Instead, it surged.

Dec 19, 2023
Housing starts surged nearly 15%, blowing expectations out of the water. What does that mean for the future of the housing market?
In November, 1.56 million single-family homes began construction, up nearly 15% from October.
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New home construction ticked up in April, signaling a rise in demand

May 17, 2023
Most new homes are going up in the South and states like Utah and Nevada, where homes are generally more affordable than on the coasts.
New home construction has picked up in the Mountain West, where housing is generally more affordable than on the coasts.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Tough housing market is pushing this lumber business to diversify

Nov 7, 2022
Sawmill Timberdoodle Farm has been investing in new equipment and looking into providing services along with its products, its co-owner says.
"Our business is pretty linked to new housing starts at the moment. And that hasn't been as robust as it has in the last two years," says Katrina Amaral, co-owner of Timberdoodle Farm. Above, a retail lumber outlet in California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The housing market is finally starting to cool off

Jun 16, 2022
Mortgage rates are up. Realtors are being laid off.
High mortgage rates means reduces the pool of potential homebuyers. Fewer buyers could mean houses are on the market longer, which could prompt sellers to reduce prices.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

There are signs that the red-hot housing market may be cooling down

May 18, 2022
Yes, mortgage rates are high. But demand is starting fall because of that, and prices aren't rising as fast as they have been, experts say.
Though home prices are still rising, they're not rising as fast as they have been, according to Redfin.
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The staying power of Case-Shiller, a marquee housing metric

Apr 6, 2022
It’s not the most timely home price indicator, but it does have advantages, including mapping prices over long periods.
Homes line a Southern California street in 2003. An approach for tracking house prices developed by economists Karl Case and Robert Shiller in the 1980s remains an important market indicator today.
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Rising mortgage rates and prices not raining on homebuilders' parade

Jan 19, 2022
The latest survey data shows that homebuilders have a positive outlook despite inflation and supply chain woes.
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Millennials locked out of hot real estate markets

Nov 29, 2021
The National Association of Realtors reported on Monday that pending home sales were up 7.5% in October.
Millennials are staying in their apartments for longer than they would have a decade ago, likely due to the high cost of first-time homes.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images