Wayne S. Bell’s Post

New-home construction swung back to positive territory in April after a March slide, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a press release. New homes were built at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,360,000, up 5.7% from 1,287,000 in March but down 0.6% from 1,368,000 in April 2023. Single-family housing starts, meanwhile, came in at a rate of 1,031,000, down 0.4% from 1,035,000 in March but up 17.7% from 876,000 in April 2023. #Miamirealestate #SouthFloridarealestate #MiamiRealtors #SouthFloridaRealtors

Construction starts on new housing units dropped 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,277,000 —  19.3 percent lower than levels in May 2023, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.

New Home Completions Continue To Climb: The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development keep a monthly measure of new home construction. Their report tracks the number of new building permits pulled, the number of homes that began construction, and the number of homes that completed construction during the month. Together, the three components offer a glimpse of where new home construction is and where it may be headed. According to the most recent results, permits and starts were relatively flat from last year in April. Building permits were 2 percent lower than April 2023 and housing starts were 0.6 percent lower than last year. Completions, however, surged. In fact, the number of new homes that completed construction in April was 14.6 percent higher than last year's level. That may be good news for prospective home buyers, as any increase in the number of homes available for sale can help moderate prices while offering buyers more options. (source)

The latest from the U.S. Census Bureau shows continued weakness in the home building space. At the start of the third quarter, the annual rate of privately owned housing starts was 6.8% below the June 2024 estimate, and 16% below the July 2023 rate. Both single-family and multifamily housing starts were below their 2023 levels. Building permits activity was 4% lower than the prior month and 7% lower than their levels last year. On a positive note, housing completions in July were 13.8% higher than their 2023 levels, and single-family housing completions were slightly higher than in June 2024. This should be welcome news for markets that have been hampered by low inventory levels. https://lnkd.in/eTtJNStC

Growth rates for new, single-family homes are on an upward swing, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales were up in February 5.9% from this time last year. New single-family home inventory in February was up 1.3% from January. Homes advertised for sale but not started construction have increased almost 18% over the last year. #HomeSales #RealEstate #Construction https://lnkd.in/eFWxGkvC

This is not the momentum we need to add more housing supply 😞 Home builders started work on 3.1% fewer housing units in October than in September, the U.S. Census Bureau said. Permits were also down slightly, by 0.6%. 🏠 Single-family starts fell the most, down 6.9% in October. 🏢 Multifamily starts rose about 10%, a reversal after months of weakness. As this is cyclical and with interest rates surging again, builders may be focusing on completing projects underway rather than starting new projects from the ground up. According to Daniel Vielhaber, "In the details, builders appear to be diverting resources to working through what had been a record backlog in 2022 and 2023, [and] the number of housing completions remains very elevated and the number of housing units under construction continues to dwindle. With rates higher still in November, we could see builders continue to prioritize projects already started."

Good morning wonderful professionals, I hope EVERYONE is well. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Median Sales Price for New Houses Sold in the United States [MSPNHSUS], average home sizes peaked in 2015 and are now 15% smaller. 2/3's of that move is over the last 18 months. Yes, $/sf is headed higher even if average new prices rise moderately - actually, that's already happening against moderate new price decline. Until the GFC, it was all about unit volume & home size. Post-GFC, builders rationalized not only the process but became very margin-focused. Also, maybe McMansions were just another Boomer fad...

In most of the U.S., the limited number of homes for sale is pushing prices back toward record highs. Sale prices for single-family existing homes rose in 93% of U.S. metro areas during the first quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median single-family existing-home price grew 5% from a year ago to $389,400. Yet the market is cooling and prices have started falling in some cities in Florida and Texas, where robust home-building activity in recent years has helped boost the number of homes for sale. The two states accounted for more than a quarter of all single-family residential building permits every year from 2019 to 2023, according to Census Bureau data. #realestate #housing #landlornlife

Many factors can influence the cost of building a new home — location, square footage, materials, and the time it takes to build, to name a few. In 2023, the cost of building a home averaged $313,000 (not including the cost of the land.) This is $200,000 lower than the average sales price of new construction homes in the first quarter of 2024. Costs per square foot average around $150. So far in 2024, home sales prices average $427,700 in the Midwest, $448,600 in the South, $608,100 in the West, and $945,700 in the Northeast, according to the @U.S. Census Bureau. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g6agXZbH

Downward Revisions to Economic Data will Soon Stop - When the New Administration is seated January 20, 2025. Here is the latest adjustment to what appeared to be far better numbers as the presidential election approached: Sales of new single-family houses in October 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 17.3% below the revised September rate of 738,000 and is 9.4% below the October 2023 estimate of 673,000. https://lnkd.in/gS7ASTxT