ECONOMIC NEWS
HOME BUILDS STAY HOT WHILE ECONOMY COOLS
The housing market remains on solid footing going into the summer, despite signs of an uncertain economy overall. Build- ing permits in May reached their highest monthly showing since September 2008, and housing starts have stayed above 700,000 for every month in 2012, also a first since 2008, led by May's 3.2-percent increase in single-family home starts.
RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION (MAY) Seasonally Adj. Monthly
Building Permits Single-Family Housing Starts
Multi-Family Housing Starts
Single-Family
Housing Completions Multi-Unit Housing Completions
+7.9 +3.2
Yearly
Annual Rate Change (%) Change (%) 780,000 516,000
+25.0 +26.2
179,000 458,000 130,000 -24.2 -6.3 -25.7 +31.6 +3.6 +34.0
New-home builds have stuck to a positive, if sluggish, trend throughout 2012. Building permits are at their highest rate since 2008, and combined housing starts have stayed above 700,000 since the year began.
Builder Confidence, Housing Prospects Improve
Builder confidence reached a 5-year high in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders, with an index score of 29, the highest since May 2007. Month-to-month, the index ticked up from May's downwardly revised composite of 28, remaining below an above-water score of 50 or higher. Con- fidence in current sales rose two points to 32, the best score since April 2007, while the future expectations and prospective buyers categories were unchanged from May, at 34 and 23 respectively.
First-Time Homebuyers Boost Markets With Government's Help
A report
from Inman News ranks housing markets based on the percentage of home sales in the area made to first-time buyers with loans insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) last year.
FHA loans are popular with first-time buyers because they require a lower down payment – as little as 3.5 percent – and less stringent qualifying terms; therefore, the per- centages used to rank these markets do not include all first-time buyers in that market.
The top five areas (of first-time-homebuy- ers with FHA loans compared to total hous ing sales) are:
Information Request # 364 32 LC DBM
1. Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. 2. Charleston, W.Va. 3. Visalia-Porterville, Calif. 4. Merced, Calif. 5. Fresno, Calif.