Housing Starts

April 17, 2025 Housing starts plunged by 11.4% in March to 1,324 thousand after having risen 9.8% in February after falling 10.8% in January after jumping 16.9% in December.  Clearly, starts have been exceptionally volatile in recent months, rising or falling by...

Homebuilder Confidence

April 16, 2025 Homebuilder confidence rose 1 point in April to 40 after  having declined 3 points in March.  Builders are worried about the imposition of tariffs, still high mortgage rates, and the cost of materials.  Keep in mind that the breakeven point for this...

Pending Home Sales

March 27, 2025 Pending home sales rose 2.0% in February to 72.0 after having fallen 4.6% in January. The National Association of Realtors chief economist, Lawrence Yun said, “”Despite the modest monthly increase, contract signings remain well below historical...

New Home Sales

March 25, 2025 New home sales rose 1.8% in February to 676 thousand after having fallen 6.9% in January.  In the past year new home sales have risen 5.1%.   New home sales can be volatile from month to month, but it seems clear that they appear to be in a gradual...

Case Shiller Index of Home Prices

March 25, 2025 The seasonally adjusted Case Shiller Index of Home Prices in 20 cities rose 0.5% in both December and January.  Prices have `risen 4.7% in the past year. The National Index which is a slightly broader measure of home price increases rose 0.6% in January...

Existing Home Sales

March 20, 2025 . Existing home sales rose 4.2% in February to 4,260 thousand after having fallen 4.7% in January.  After rising for three straight months sales declined in January.  Our expectation is that a steady increase in jobs will boost income, mortgage rates...