According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) declined 0.1% in October (not seasonally adjusted) following a 0.2% increase in September.  The index has increased 1.0%, year-to-date, marking the smallest YTD gain through October since it fell 0.1% over the first 10 months of 2019. The Producer Price… Read More ›

During the third quarter of 2023, availability loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) continued to tighten, according to both NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing and the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers.  Each of the surveys produces a net easing index that is positive when credit is easing and negative when credit is tightening. In the… Read More ›

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s November 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), lending standards tightened for all commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories and most residential real estate (RRE) categories in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, demand for RRE and CRE loans weakened across all categories over the quarter. A higher net percentage of banks reported tighter… Read More ›

Rising mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and limited existing inventory helped push housing affordability in the third quarter of 2023 to its lowest level in more than a decade. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 37.4% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September… Read More ›

Median square foot prices (excluding record-high improved lot values) for new for-sale single-family detached (SFD) homes started in 2022 increased 18%, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest Survey of Construction data. Increases for square foot prices in new custom SFD homes were similarly high, averaging 19%, more than double the US inflation of 8% registered by the CPI the… Read More ›

Consumer credit outstanding growth slowed to 0.4% in the third quarter of 2023 (SAAR) according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, as revolving debt grew 8.6% and nonrevolving debt declined 2.4%. On a monthly basis, revolving credit outstanding increased just 3.0% in September after surging 14.6% in August (SAAR). Total consumer credit outstanding stands at $4.98 trillion… Read More ›