The Housing Chronicles Blog: 7/1/14 - 8/1/14

Thursday, July 31, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/31/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/31/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:

  • Pending home sales slowed modestly in June but still above long-term average
  • New orders rebounded more than expected in June
  • Consumer confidence climbs for third straight month in July
  • Private sector jobs grew by 218,000 from June to July
  • US GDP rebounded by 4.0 percent during 2Q2014 in first estimate
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Friday, July 25, 2014

Second Quarter 2014 Economic Update: Unemployment dropped even as the labor market remained subdued

After Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was sworn in to replace the outgoing Ben Bernanke earlier this year, she made it clear that she was going to rely on a larger variety of economic indicators besides the unemployment rate, which has steadily declined to just over six percent.  Under Bernanke’s watch, once the unemployment rate fell below 6.5 percent and annual inflation was kept at or under 2.5 percent, the Fed would hike its federal funds rates, which in turn would result in higher borrowing costs for businesses and higher mortgage rates down the road.

Yellen, however, monitors nearly a dozen indicators to give her a fuller picture of today’s labor market, such as the number of long-term unemployed and the number of job openings as well as those who are optimistic enough to quit their jobs for something else.  In the first scenario, the share of those long-term jobseekers who can’t find employment has been pegged at 32.8 percent.  While this rate has improved somewhat in recent months, it is still far above the 19.1 percent average noted before the recession.

In the second scenario, the labor force participation rate continues to hover at 36-year lows, while the share of jobseekers too discouraged to continue looking now stands at over 12 percent.  From Yellen’s financial perch, this collection of indices means that the U.S. economy, although slowly improving, is still too fragile to thrive without the Fed’s near-zero-rate training wheels.  Consequently, it could be well into 2015 before we start to see interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

Despite the perceived fragility of the recovery, the recent robust level of hiring has been more sustainable than it has in years.  By including June’s 288,000 increase and factoring in upward revisions for estimated hiring in April and May, employers added an average of 231,000 workers a month in the first half of 2014 -- the best six-month run since the spring of 2006.

Moreover, the June job growth was very broad, with industries from health care and manufacturing to financial services and retail all adding workers.  Importantly, these aren’t just well-paid white-collar jobs or low-wage service positions, but also in the huge moderate-wage groups which allow workers to gain traction as part of the middle class.

Importantly, the initial weakness in the first quarter of 2014 delayed job growth even further, as the economy shrank 2.9 percent due to a bitter winter chill and a corresponding freefall for business inventories.  Still, the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Indicators rose in June for the fifth straight month, further underscoring the economy’s rebound from the first quarter’s decline.

Nonetheless, for homebuilders, the start/stop/start economy has meant a lag in their aggregate confidence level, which remained below 50 until July, when it rebounded by four points to 53.  It also didn’t help that overall housing starts dipped by over nine percent in June from May, due entirely to a 30-percent plummet in the South region that has been largely blamed on a lack of buildable lots and available labor (in the other regions, housing starts rose by 2.6 to 28.0 percent).    Still, compared with June of 2013, overall housing starts are still up 7.5 percent, and although building permits also dipped by a small amount in June, they’re still up marginally from a year ago.

After initially rising 19 percent in May before being revised downwards in a subsequent report, during June annual new single-family home sales fell to 406,000 units, which is down 8.1 percent from a month earlier and 11.5 percent from June 2013.  Consequently, the time it would take to sell existing inventory rebounded to 5.8 months.  While the median sales price of $273,500 did decline from May, over the last year it has risen from $259,800, fueling theories that the rise in prices is partially to blame for fewer sales.

For existing homes, the good news is that sales rose for the third consecutive month in June to the highest annual pace since last October.  Still, due to a still-subdued supply of inventory, sales activity is still less than the same time last year.  Yet due to a combination of gradually stronger sales and higher median prices – which rose by about four percent to $223,300 – look for the existing home market to continue improving during the busy summer season.  However, to get back to a normal market, NAR’s Lawrence Yun estimates that new-home construction needs to increase by 50 percent before the housing market is back to a normal supply/demand balance.

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/25/14


Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/25/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • New single-family home sales declined in June
  • Mortgage loan applications rise 2.4 percent in latest survey as rates remained unchanged
  • Initial unemployment claims plummet to post-recession low of 284,000
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/24/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/24/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:

  • FHFA House Price Index up 0.4 percent in May and 5.5 percent over previous year
  • CPI rose 0.3 percent in June, up 2.1 percent over previous 12 months
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/22/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/22/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Existing home sales hit fastest pace since October 2013
  • Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.3 percent in June
  • Consumer sentiment takes preliminary dip in July
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Friday, July 18, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/18/14


Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/18/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • June housing starts plummeted in the South but rose in U.S. other regions
  • June building permits dip by 4.2 percent from May but still up 2.7 percent year-over-year
  • Initial unemployment claims fall to lowest level since June 2007
  • Mortgage applications dip by 3.6 percent in latest survey
  • Business inventories rose by 0.5 percent in May, matching expectations
  • Philadelphia Fed's Outlook Survey showed continued regional expansion in July
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/17/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/17/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Builder confidence rebounds by four points to 53 in July
  • Retail sales rose less than expected in July due to fewer auto sales
  • Producer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in June, up 1.9 percent for previous 12 months
  • Industrial production up by 0.2 percent in June and 5.5 percent annual rate in 2Q 2014
  • Business conditions climb for highest level in four years for New York firms
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Monday, July 14, 2014

July column for Builder & Developer magazine now online

My column for the July 2014 issue of Builder and Developer magazine is now posted online.

For this issue, entitled "Green Building Takes on Climate Change," I reviewed the June report released from The Risky Business Project and what that could mean for the building industry.  An excerpt:
In late 2013, a trio of business leaders including Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulson and investment fund billionaire Tom Steyer teamed up to found the Risky Business Project with a simple mandate: Determine the potential consequences for the U.S. economy without significant changes in the way we consume and deploy natural resources...

Several years ago, the NAHB conducted its own research into the effects of housing and homebuilding on GHG emissions using data from the Department of Energy, the Census Bureau and other agencies. The association hired its own researchers and economists to review existing data on density, land-use patterns and vehicle usage.
What they concluded was that given the complexity of building communities, caution is strongly recommended as choices are made about the future due primarily to the law of unintended consequences. Solutions that may seem simple on the surface are actually much more complex, and would involve various tradeoffs that could create new problems to solve...
To read the entire column, click here.


To read the entire July 2014 issue in digital format, click here.

Friday, July 11, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/1114


Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/11/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Federal Reserve to end QEIII in October, but interest rate hikes further off
  • Initial unemployment claims fall by 11,000 in latest report
  • Wholesale inventories rose by 0.5 percent in May
  • Mortgage applications rose by 1.9 percent in latest survey
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/10/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/10/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Job openings rise slightly to 4.6 million in May
  • Consumer credit rose more than expected in May
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Friday, July 4, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/04/14


Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/04/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June; unemployment rate at 6.1 percent
  • Initial unemployment claims rise by 2,000 in latest report
  • Service sector economy grew at slightly lower rate in June
  • Mortgage applications dip in latest survey as conforming rates also fall to 4.28 percent
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Happy Independence Day from Housing Chronicles

We here at The Housing Chronicles Blog and MetroIntelligence would like wish our clients, colleagues and friends a very Happy Fourth of July!
Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83).

In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

Early Fourth of July Celebrations

In the pre-Revolutionary years, colonists had held annual celebrations of the king's birthday, which traditionally included the ringing of bells, bonfires, processions and speechmaking. By contrast, during the summer of 1776 some colonists celebrated the birth of independence by holding mock funerals for King George III, as a way of symbolizing the end of the monarchy's hold on America and the triumph of liberty.

Festivities including concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of cannons and muskets usually accompanied the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence, beginning immediately after its adoption. Philadelphia held the first annual commemoration of independence on July 4, 1777, while Congress was still occupied with the ongoing war. George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778, and in 1781, several months before the key American victory at Yorktown, Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday.

After the Revolutionary War, Americans continued to commemorate Independence Day every year, in celebrations that allowed the new nation's emerging political leaders to address citizens and create a feeling of unity. By the last decade of the 18th century, the two major political parties--Federalists and Democratic-Republicans--that had arisen began holding separate Independence Day celebrations in many large cities.

July 4th Becomes A National Holiday

The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812, in which the United States again faced Great Britain. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday; in 1941, the provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees. Over the years, the political importance of the holiday would decline, but Independence Day remained an important national holiday and a symbol of patriotism.

Falling in mid-summer, the Fourth of July has since the late 19th century become a major focus of leisure activities and a common occasion for family get-togethers, often involving fireworks and outdoor barbecues. The most common symbol of the holiday is the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States.
Source:  History.com

Thursday, July 3, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/3/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/3/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Construction spending edged up in May after April's strong rebound
  • Private sector employment rose by 281,000 jobs in June
  • Job cuts rose sharply in May due largely to layoffs in technology
  • Manufacturing sector grew in June for the 13th consecutive month
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 7/1/14

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 7/1/14 on the Web.

In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I covered the following indicators:
  • Consumer confidence gained in June despite drop in 1st quarter GDP
  • Pending home sales jumped in May in all regions
  • Chicago PMI slipped in June but index still indicates expansion
  • Personal spending and income both rose in May
Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 130,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.