New Home Construction In St Louis Slips In July Still Up For The Year

New home construction activity in St Louis during July showed mixed results around the St Louis area. For the five-county core St Louis market that I focus on (city of St. Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Franklin and Jefferson) permits issued for new homes during July slipped 2.7% to 322 from 331 the year before.  The decline was concentrated in just two counties however, albeit the two largest ones, St Louis and St Charles.  St Charles county saw permits fall to 142 for July, down almost 25 percent from July 2014 when there were 189 permits issued and St Louis county saw permits fall nearly 13 percent during the same period from 78 permits in July 2014 to 68 in July 2015.

On a year-to-date basis, the 5-county core St Louis market is up 11.2 percent from a year ago with 2,257 permits issued versus 2,030 as of the same time a year ago.

For the St Louis MSA, as the chart below shows, building permits issued for new homes in July was up 13.8% from a year ago.

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St. Louis area new home building permits up almost 30 percent from last year

saint-louis-real-estate-dennis-normanAccording to a report just released by the Home Builders Association of St. Louis (HBA), St Louis new home construction activity is on the rise!   The HBA report shows that there have been 1,275 permits issued for new homes through June of this year in St. Louis City and St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin County which is an increase of 29 percent from last year at this time when there had been 989 total permits issued for new homes in the St. Louis area. Continue reading “St. Louis area new home building permits up almost 30 percent from last year

New home construction activity continues to increase

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for March 2012 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits from the month before of 3.5 percent and a 17.9 percent increase in new home starts compared to the year before. Continue reading “New home construction activity continues to increase

New home construction on the increase

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for February 2012 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 4.9 percent and a 9.9 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction on the increase

New home construction activity picking up

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for January 2012 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 0.9 percent and a 1.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction activity picking up

New Home Starts in 2011 Set All-Time Record Low

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The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Unfortunately, nothing dramatic happened, and 2011 has ended with only 428,600 new home starts setting a new record low and significantly below the prior all-time low of 445,200 starts in 2009.

Continue reading “New Home Starts in 2011 Set All-Time Record Low

New home construction in November inches up;  Curent pace slightly ahead of record-low

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The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well, the actual numbers this year will still most likely be a record low, but at least the rate of new home starts for November has now inched above the record low New home starts in November were up 2.3 percent from the prior month with the seasonally adjusted annual rate inching its way up to 447,000 homes, just slightly above the all-time low of 445,200 new home starts in 2009. Continue reading “New home construction in November inches up;  Curent pace slightly ahead of record-low

New home permits and construction increase in October; Still at record low pace for year

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The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well, unfortunately, even though the report for October shows an increase of 3.9 percent in housing starts, the seasonally adjusted annual rate is still at just 430,000 homes and still on track for 2011 to be a record low year for housing starts.

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for October 2011 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 5.1percent and a 3.9 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home permits and construction increase in October; Still at record low pace for year

New home construction increases slightly; still on pace for record-low year

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The last couple of months I have said that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well, unfortunately, even though the report for September shows an increase of 1.7 percent in housing starts, the seasonally adjusted annual rate is still at just 425,000 homes and still on track for 2011 to be a record low year for housing starts.

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for September 2011 showing a slight decrease in single-family home building permits from the month before of 0.2 percent and a 1.7 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction increases slightly; still on pace for record-low year

New home construction continues at record low pace for the year

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Last month I talked about how in 1959 the census bureau first started keeping track of new home construction activity and reported that there were 1.5 million new homes started that year and that, “unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well, unfortunately, the report for August paints a pretty bleak picture as well and in fact, shows new home starts are at an even lower rate than last month dropping from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 423,000 homes the prior month to 417,000 homes in August.

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for August 2011 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 2.5 percent and a 1.4 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction continues at record low pace for the year

New Home Construction On Pace For Record Low in 2011

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In 1959 the census bureau first started keeping track of new home construction activity and reported that there were 1.5 million new homes started that year. In 2005 a record high 1.7 million new homes were started and in 2009 a record low 445,100 new homes. In 2010 there was a little improvement as there were 471,200 new homes started and things were looking up a bit, however, unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts.

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for July 2011 showing a very slight increase in single-family home building permits from the month before (0.5 percent), and a 1.2 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the year before. Continue reading “New Home Construction On Pace For Record Low in 2011

New home permits and starts increase in May; New home shortage coming?

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for June 2011 showing a very slight increase in single-family home building permits from the month before (0.2 percent), and a 9.4 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home permits and starts increase in May; New home shortage coming?

New home construction increases in May; outpacing new home sales by 60 percent

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for May 2011 showing a 2.5 percent increase in single-family home building permits from the month before, and a 3.7 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction increases in May; outpacing new home sales by 60 percent

New Home Construction Declines in April; No Recovery in Site for Builders

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for April 2011 showing a 1.8 percent decrease in single-family home building permits from the month before, and a 5.1 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New Home Construction Declines in April; No Recovery in Site for Builders

New Home Construction Activity Increases in March

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for March 2011 showing a 5.7 percent increase in single-family home building permits from the month before, and a 7.7 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. This comes on the heels of new home construction sinking to a 25 year low last month. Continue reading “New Home Construction Activity Increases in March

New home construction sinks to 25 year low

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for February 2011 showing a 9.3 percent decrease in single-family home building permits from January, and a 27.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the year before. Continue reading “New home construction sinks to 25 year low

New home construction starts off 2011 with a ‘fizzle’

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for January 2011 showing a 4.8 percent decrease in single-family home building permits from December, and a 1.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction starts off 2011 with a ‘fizzle’

New home starts drop in December; down 14 percent from year before

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for December 2010 showing a 5.5 percent increase in single-family home building permits from November, but a 9.0 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home starts drop in December; down 14 percent from year before

October New Home Construction: Permits Up, Starts Down

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for October 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and a small decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “October New Home Construction: Permits Up, Starts Down

New home construction increases slightly in September; Still greatly outpaces sales

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for September 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction increases slightly in September; Still greatly outpaces sales

New home construction continues to outpace new home sales; look for inventory to grow

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for August 2010 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue reading “New home construction continues to outpace new home sales; look for inventory to grow

New Home Permits and Construction Drop in July; Still outpacing new home sales though

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for July 2010 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits and a decrease in new home starts from June. Continue reading “New Home Permits and Construction Drop in July; Still outpacing new home sales though

New Home Building Permits and Starts Down In June

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for June 2010 showing a decrease in building permits and a decrease in new home starts from May.

The report shows the following:

  • Building permits issued for single-family residences in June were at an annual rate of 421,000 which is 3.4 percent below the revised May rate of 4216,000 and a decrease of 6.7 percent from a year ago when the rate was 451,000.
  • Housing starts for single-family residences in June were at an annual rate of 454,000 which is a decrease of 0.7 percent from the revised rate for May of 457,000 and an decrease of 4.6 percent from a year ago.
  • Homes completed in June were at a rate of 676,000 homes, an increase of 31.3 percent from May’s revised rate of 515,000 homes and an increase of 32.5 percent from a year ago.

As I say every month, we need to remember that all the numbers above are “seasonally adjusted” annual rates and the year over year comparisons are just comparing the numbers for June 2010 versus June 2009. Another way I like to look at where things stand is to simply look at the year to date data; actual numbers, not seasonally adjusted, compared to last years ytd numbers at this same time. I think this may give a little better comparison so those numbers are below:

  • Through June 2010 there have been 245,100 permits issued for new homes compared with 203,000 this time last year for an increase of 20.7 percent.
    • In June there were 42,900 permits issued, an increase from May’s 42,100 permits.
  • Through June 2010 there have been 256,400 new homes started compared with 202,100 this time last year for an increase of 26.9 percent.
    • In June there were 45,500 new homes started, an increase from May’s 43,300 new starts.
  • There have been 243,800 new homes completed through June 2010, pretty much the same as this time last year when there were 243,600 homes completed.
    • In June there were 60,000 new homes completed, an increase from May’s 42,600 completions.

Let’s do one of my favorite things and look at the raw numbers and not seasonally-adjusted numbers to compare construction activity to sales:

  • Through the end of May, 2010 (the most recent period sales data is available for) there have been 159,000 new homes sold and there have been 183,800 new homes completed, outpacing sales by 15.6 percent.
    • For the 12-month period June 2009 through May 2010 there were 383,000 new homes sold and there were 504,800 new homes completed, outpacing sales by 31.8 percent.
  • Through the end of May there have been 210,900 new homes started outpacing the new ytd home sales activity through May by 32.6 percent.

As expected, building permits and starts have dropped after the temporary spike upward which was the result of home-buyers rushing tobeat the tax-credit deadline of April 30th. A concern of mine however is that new home starts and permits continue to outpace new home sales in both YTD numbers as well as in the prior 12 month period as I have shown above. Replenishing inventory of new homes would make sense if the underlying real estate market was showing some solid signs of recovery and growth but unfortunately it is not so I’m afraid if this trend continues it is going to lead to an over-supply of new homes again which will not be good.

 

New Home Permits Drop Almost 10 Percent in May; New Home Starts Drop 17 Percent

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for May 2010 showing a decrease in building permits and a decrease in new home starts from April.

The report shows the following:

  • Building permits issued for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 438,000 which is 9.9 percent below the revised April rate of 486,000 and an increase of 3.1 percent from a year ago when the rate was 425,000.
  • Housing starts for single-family residences in May were at an annual rate of 468,000 which is a decrease of 17.2 percent from April’s revised rate of 565,000 and an increase of 15.3 percent from a year ago.
  • Homes completed in May were at a rate of 507,000 homes, down 7.8 percent from April’s rate of 550,000 homes and an increase of 2.4 percent from a year ago.

As I say every month, we need to remember that all the numbers above are “seasonally adjusted” annual rates and the year over year comparisons are just comparing the numbers for May 2010 versus May 2009. Another way I like to look at where things stand is to simply look at the year to date data; actual numbers, not seasonally adjusted, compared to last years ytd numbers at this same time. I think this may give a little better comparison so those numbers are below:

  • Through May 2010 there have been 202,600 permits issued for new homes compared with 156.900 this time last year for an increase of 29.1 percent.
    • In May there were 50,600 permits issued, an increase from April’s 35,000 permits.
  • Through May 2010 there have been 211,700 new homes started compared with 152,900 this time last year for an increase of 38.5 percent.
    • In May there were 45,100 new homes started, a decrease from April’s 52,300 new starts.
  • There have been 183,700 new homes completed through May 2010, compared with 199,200 this time last year for a decline of 7.8.
    • In May there were 42,400 new homes completed, a slight decrease from April’s 43,000 completions.

Let’s do one of my favorite things and look at the raw numbers and not seasonally-adjusted numbers to compare construction activity to sales:

  • Through the end of April, 2010 (the most recent period sales data is available for) there have been 137,000 new homes sold and there have been 141,300 new homes completed, outpacing sales by a modest 3.1 percent.
  • Through the end of April there have been 166,600 new homes started outpacing the new ytd home sales activity through April by 21.6 percent.

I think most people fully expected building permits and starts to drop in May after the spike in the prior couple of months as a result of the home-buyer tax credit deadline to purchase of April 30th. Since starts and permits are still outpacing home sales I still have concern that there is too much optimism out there and an expectation that demand for new homes is going to increase soon which I don’t think is in the cards. I think until the foreclosure and mortgage delinquency rates start subsiding, and the inventory of foreclosures and REO’s on the market (and on the banks books) has bled off, we won’t be seeing much of an increase in demand for new homes.

 

Building Permits Jump in March; New Home Construction Still Outpacing Sales

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for March 2010 showing an increase in building permits and a decrease in new home starts from February.

The report shows the following:

  • Building permits issued for single-family residences in March were at an annual rate of 543,000 which is 5.6 percent above the revised February rate of 514,000 and an increase of 50.8 percent from a year ago when the rate was 360,000.
  • Housing starts for single-family residences in March were at an annual rate of 531,000 which is a decrease of 0.9 percent from February’s revised rate of 536,000 and an increase of 47.1 percent from a year ago.
  • Homes completed in March were at a rate of 486,000 homes, up 5.9 percent from February’s rate of 459,000 homes and a decrease of 11.2 percent from a year ago when the rate was 547,000 homes.

As I say every month, we need to remember that all the numbers above are “seasonally adjusted” annual rates and the year over year comparisons are just comparing the numbers for March 2010 versus March 2009. Another way I like to look at where things stand is to simply look at the year to date data; actual numbers, not seasonally adjusted, compared to last years ytd numbers at this same time. I think this may give a little better comparison so those numbers are below:

  • Through March 2010 there have been 116,400 permits issued for new homes compared with 80,100 this time last year for an increase of 45.4 percent.
    • In March there were 50,600 permits issued, an increase from February’s 35,000 permits.
  • Through March 2010 there have been 114,300 new homes started compared with 78,300 this time last year for an increase of 46.0 percent.
    • In March there were 46,900 new homes started, an increase from February’s 35,700 new starts.
  • There have been 98,600 new homes completed through March 2010, compared with 116,800 this time last year for a decline of 15.6 percent.
    • In March there were 37,600 new homes completed, an increase from February’s 31,000 completions.

Let’s do one of my favorite things and look at the raw numbers and not seasonally-adjusted numbers to compare construction activity to sales:

  • Through the end of February, 2010 there have been 46,000 new homes sold and there have been 61,000 new homes completed, outpacing sales by 32.6 percent.
  • Through the end of February there have been 67,400 new homes started outpacing the new ytd home sales activity through February by over 46.5 percent.

While I like to see the optimism from builders about the market, and have to have hope that they see market demand that maybe isn’t showing up in the numbers yet, I still have to say I think builders are being too optimistic about the housing market and are perhaps seeing a recovery and demand that is not here yet. Granted, we are going into spring, typically a good sales season, although we are also going to say goodbye to any stimulus received by the homebuyer tax credit at the end of this month. If new home sales jumps significantly over the next couple of months maybe supply and demand will come back in line. Time will tell..

New Home Construction In February Continuing to Outpace New Home Sales

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for February 2010 showing a decrease in new home construction activity from February, but siginificant increases from a year ago..

The report shows the following:

  • Building permits issued for single-family residences in February were at an annual rate of 503,000 which is 0.2 percent below the revised January rate of 504,000 and an increase of 32.0 percent from a year ago when the rate was 381,000.
    • Dragging down the overall permit numbers for housing are multi-family dwellings with 5 or more units. Permits for those buildings were down 10.1 percent in February from January and down 41.4 percent from a year ago.
  • Housing starts for single-family residences in February were at an annual rate of 499,000 which is a decrease of 0.6 percent from January’s rate of 502,000 and an increase of 39.8 percent from a year ago.
    • Once again, bringing down the overal start numbers for housing was multi-family dwellings with 5 or more units. Starts for those buildings were down 43.1 percent in February from January and down a whopping 71.6 percent from a year ago.
  • Homes completed in February was at a rate of 458,000 homes, up 4.3 percent from January’s rate of 439,000 homes and a decrease of 14.2 percent from a year ago when the rate was 534,000 homes.
    • Interesting enough, multi-family dwellings with 5 or more units in February increased 14.6 percent from January and was down just 15.7 percent from a year ago.

As I say every month, we need to remember that all the numbers above are “seasonally adjusted” annual rates and the year over year comparisons are just comparing the numbers for February 2010 versus February 2009. Another way I like to look at where things stand is to simply look at the year to date data; actual numbers, not seasonally adjusted, compared to last years ytd numbers at this same time. I think this may give a little better comparison so those numbers are below:

  • Through February 2010 there have been 65,100 permits issued for new homes compared with 47,900 this time last year for an increase of 35.7 percent.
    • In February there were 34,300 permits issued, an increase from January’s 30,800 permits.
  • Through February 2010 there have been 65,100 new homes started compared with 47,300 this time last year for an increase of 37.6 percent.
    • In February there were 33,500 new homes started, an increase from January’s 31,600 new starts.
  • There have been 60,200 new homes completed through February 2010, compared with 75,500 this time last year for a decline of 20.2 percent.
    • In February there were 30,500 new homes completed, an increase from January’s 29,700 completions.

Let’s do one of my favorite things and look at the raw numbers and not seasonally-adjusted numbers to compare construction activity to sales:

Through the end of January, 2010 there have been 21,000 homes sold and there have been 29,700 new homes completed, outpacing sales by 41.4 percent. At the end of January there were 234,000 new homes for sale, a 9.1 month supply based upon the January seasonally adjusted sales rate, but a supply of over 11 months based upon current actual new home sales.

In January there were 31,600 new homes started outpacing the new home sales activity for January by over 50 percent.

So what does all this say about the new home market? I think it says that builders are being too optimistic about the housing market and are perhaps seeing a recovery and demand that is not here yet. The pace of new home construction activity at all stages (permits, starts, completions) has increased significantly from a year ago (in all case at least a third) but yet there are fewer new homes being sold than last year and the supply of new homes is increasing. I’m afraid this is the beginning of the next blow to the new home market.

New home construction in the U.S. increases in November….but why?

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New home construction is on the rise in November…. WHY??? They aren’t selling as fast as they are being built…didn’t we learn our lesson?

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for November 2009 showing an increase in new home construction activity from October.

The report shows the following:

  • Building permits issued for single-family residences in November were at an annual rate of 473,000 which is 5.3 percent above the revised October rate of 449,000 and down 12.1 percent from a year ago.
    • For the third consecutive month the Northeast region had the best numbers of the regions with an increase in permits of 6.4 percent from the prior month, and an increase of the same amount from a year ago. The other three regions also saw an increase in building activity in November from October, the south was up 6.0 percent, the west 5.3 percent and the midwest 2.7 percent. The largest increase from a year ago was the West at 16.3 percent, then the South at 15.3 percent and the Midwest at 1.4 percent.
  • Housing starts for single-family residences in November were at an annual rate of 482,000 which is 2.1 percent above the revised October rate of 472,000 and 5.5 percent above a year ago.
    • The west and south regions had increases in building starts from October at 5.4 percent and 4.4 percent respectively. The midwest and northeast both had decreases in building starts from October at 6.2 percent and 2.1 percent respectively. The midwest is the only region that has a decrease in housing starts from a year ago (13.6 percent) the south had an increase of 12.9 percent, the northeast and increase of 12.2 percent and the west an increase of 2.1 percent from a year prior.
  • Single-family homes completed in November were at a rate of 524,000, even with the revised rate for October of 524,000.
    • The midwest saw a 13.0 percent increase in completions followed by the west region with a 2.3 percent increase. The south and northeast saw declines of 0.8 percent and 18.3 percent respectively. All regions are down significantly in completions from a year ago. The south is down 35.3 percent, the midwest down 28.7 percent and the northeast and west are both down 25.8 percent.

Something to remember is all the numbers above are “seasonally adjusted” annual rates and the year over year comparisons are just comparing the numbers for November 2009 versus November 2008. Another way I like to look at where things stand is to simply look at the year to date data; actual numbers, not seasonally adjusted, compared to last years ytd numbers at this same time. I think this may give a little better comparison so those numbers are below:

  • Through November 2009 there have been 401,000 permits issued for new homes compared with 545,000 this time last year for a decline of 26.4 percent (October YTD numbers were down 29.0 percent).
  • Through November 2009 there have been 414,400 new homes started compared with 595,900 this time last year for a decline of 30.5 percent (October YTD numbers were down 32.5 percent).
  • There have been 467,900 new homes completed through November 2009, compared with 752,500 this time last year for a decline of 37.8 percent (October YTD numbers were down 38.5 percent)

OK, last month I said it was good to see new home permits and sales drop as I don’t think we need to increase inventory yet. Obviously no one listened to me and everything was up this month. Granted, these “up” numbers are seasonally-adjusted rates, and you know how I feel about that, but they are up none the less.

The problem is, new home permits, starts and completions are still outpacing new home sales even when we use all the seasonally-adjusted annual rates. The new home “seasonally-adjusted” sales rate in October was 430,000 homes….however, as I have reported here, new home permits, starts and completions are still out-pacing sales, and by a pretty signifcant margin.

Let’s do one of my favorite things and look at the raw numbers and not seasonally-adjusted numbers to compare construction activity to sales:

Through the end of October there have been 328,000 homes sold and there have been 467,900 new homes completed, outpacing sales by 42.6 percent. At the end of October there were 240,000 new homes for sale, a 6.7 month supply based upon the October seasonally adjusted sales rate. October added 68,800 completed new homes to inventory and it is very unlikely (I’ll even say impossible) that we will see that many sales in November so we are going to see inventory increase. This is the same statement I made last month when there were 49,000 new homes completed…I ended up being right, there were only 35,000 new homes sold in October (btw, my projections called for 32,000 new homes sold…not bad for an amateur).

I do realize that once we truly get into a recovery of the housing market we will, at some point, need to see the rate of new home construction increase to meet demand but I don’t think the time is now. I also feel the recovery is going to be VERY gradual when it comes and we are not going to see a big, and rapid spike, in sales necessitating the same in home starts, but instead a slow, gradual increase in sales which will sustain a slow, gradual increase in new home construction.

New home construction in Midwest down in October; New home completions still outpacing sales by over 50 percent

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Even with a decline in the Midwest in new home starts and completions, new home construction activity is still outpacing new home sales potentially leading to inventories increasing again.

The US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for October 2009 showing a decrease in new home construction activity in the Midwest from September.

The report shows the following for the Midwest Region: Continue reading “New home construction in Midwest down in October; New home completions still outpacing sales by over 50 percent

New home construction in Midwest on the rise; Construction outpacing sales

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By: Dennis Norman

This morning the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for August 2009 showing a slight decrease in new home construction activity from July in the US, but an increase in new home construction activity here in the Midwest.

The report shows the following for the Midwest Region: Continue reading “New home construction in Midwest on the rise; Construction outpacing sales

New home starts and completions in July down from June; Permits are up

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This morning the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for July 2009 showing a slight increase in new home construction activity from June in the U.S.

For the Midwest region of the U.S. the report showed the following: