Items include
housing starts
Economic Indicators
Sep 19, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell sharply in August, much more than expected, hitting the lowest levels since the pandemic. The aways-volatile multifamily sector led the declines, though, suggesting the magnitude of the decline was likely just normal volatility. That said,...
Aug 16, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts rose moderately in July but were only higher after negative revisions to June data. Starts were still trending modestly higher through July, but the upward trend was losing some momentum amid another push higher in mortgage...
Jul 19, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing Starts fell more than expected in June, and there were negative revisions to prior data. The new home market continues to perform better than existing home sales as demand remains robust, despite worse affordability. But this...
Jun 20, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts rose sharply in May, jumping 21.7% from the April revised reading. While there were negative revisions to April data, the overall upside surprise was significant. Single-family activity jumped to its highest level in 11 months as...
May 17, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts rose as expected in April, but there were modest negative revisions to prior data. Single- and multi-family starts edged higher, but there was a marked shift within multi-family permits -- 5+ unit developments slowed sharply after...
Apr 18, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell less than expected in March as single-family starts rose for the third month, but multi-family declined. Large multi-family developments slowed most sharply, but the segment was still historically quite robust. Single-family activity, meanwhile, had been...
Feb 16, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell slightly less more expected in January, and December data was revised lower. Multi-family starts, which had remained surprisingly robust, fell for the second straight month and were heading modestly lower on a trend basis. Single-family...
Jan 19, 2023
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell slightly less than expected in December, but November data was revised lower. Single-family starts rose to a four-month high, while multi-family, which had remained surprisingly robust, fell sharply. However, some of the gains in single-family...
Nov 17, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell less than expected in October. But despite upward revisions to previously reported data, starts remained firmly in a downtrend. Single-family starts hit new post-pandemic lows. Single-family permits authorized but not yet started remained very high...
Oct 19, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell more than expected in September, resuming the downtrend after a modest rebound in August. Single-family starts fell below 900k annualized units for the first time since the pandemic, hitting levels seen when activity slowed in...
Sep 20, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts rose more than expected in August, but there were negative revisions to previously reported months, and permits slipped further. Moreover, the August rebound was driven by multi-family, which has remained volatile but more resilient than single-family...
Aug 16, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell slightly more than expected in July, as both single- and multi-family activity slowed. There were slight upward revisions to June data, but not nearly enough to offset the downside surprise in July. Single-family starts continued...
Jul 19, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell slightly more than expected in June, but there were positive revisions to May data. Single-family starts declined sharply and were trending towards levels seen before the pandemic and after the tax changes in 2018. Multi-family...
Jun 21, 2022
Bottom Line: Existing home sales fell in May, as expected, dropping nearly 200k annualized units, continuing a trend amid sharply higher mortgage rates. While historically still low, inventories rose again and stood at 2.6 months of sales, up from 1.6...
Jun 16, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell even more than expected in May as mortgage rates rose sharply. While there were upward revisions, this report showed a sudden slowdown in activity as builders appear to have finally reacted to higher mortgage rates....
May 18, 2022
Bottom Line: Housing starts fell only slightly in April, even as mortgage rates continued to rise. That said, single-family housing starts fell more than the headline suggested as multi-family starts rose for the second month in a row, hitting new...