Articles

Washington, DC, November 17, 2021- Privately‐owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,520,000, 0.7% below the revised September estimate of 1,530,000 but 0.4% above the October 2020 rate of 1,514,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced. Read More

Total construction starts pushed 16% higher in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.01 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts gained 29% and nonbuilding moved 52% higher in October, while residential starts lost 8%. Read More

U.S. import prices rose 1.2% in October following a 0.4% advance in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  Read More

U.S. retail and food services sales for October 2021 were $638.2 billion, an increase of 1.7% from the previous month and 16.3% above October 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Read More

Low existing inventories and strong buyer demand helped push builder confidence higher for the third consecutive month even as supply-side challenges-including building material bottlenecks and lot and labor shortages-remain stubbornly persistent. Read More

The Home Depot reported sales of $36.8 billion for Q3 2021, an increase of 9.8% from Q3 2020’s $33.5 billion. Comparable sales for Q3 2021 increased 6.1%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 5.5%. Read More

The cost to move a container across the Pacific fell by more than one-quarter last week, the biggest decline in two years, reports the Wall Street Journal. This applies to premium, not contract buy, rates; most flooring importers don't buy at this premium rate.  Read More

Despite the highest home prices ever, fierce competition, and a nationwide housing shortage, more first-time buyers become homeowners during the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the National Association of Realtors Read More

Consumer sentiment slid 6.8% in early November to 66.8, according to the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.  This represents a 13.1% decline year over year.  Read More

Housing affordability held steady at its lowest level in nearly a decade, as higher home prices offset lower mortgage rates to keep the affordability rate flat in the third quarter of 2021. However, ongoing supply-chain disruptions and the prospect of higher interest rates in the future threaten to exacerbate affordability problems in the months ahead. Read More