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Home Price Growth Continued to Slow in August

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Home price growth continued to slow in August, growing at a rate just above 4% year-over-year. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA) posted a 4.24% annual gain, down from a 4.82% increase in July. Similarly, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (SA) rose 4.25%, down from 4.72% in July. Both indexes experienced a sixth consecutive year-over-year deceleration in August. The year-over-year rate peaked in February 2024 when the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller stood at 6.57% and the FHFA at 7.28%.

By Metro Area

In addition to tracking national home price changes, the S&P CoreLogic Index (SA) also reports home price indexes across major metro areas. Compared to last year, all 20 metro areas reported a home price increase.  There were 12 metro areas that grew more than the national rate of 4.24%. The highest annual rate was New York at 8.07%, followed by Las Vegas and Chicago both with rates of 7.22%. The smallest home price growth over the year was seen by Denver at 0.68%, followed by Portland at 0.82%, and Dallas at 1.57%.

By Census Division

Monthly, the FHFA Home Price Index (SA) publishes not only national data but also data by census division. All divisions saw an annual increase of over 2% in August. The highest rate for August was 6.31% in the East South Central division, while the lowest was 2.36% in the West South Central division. As shown in graph below, all divisions saw a slow in rates compared to June. The FHFA Home Price Index releases their metro and state data on a quarterly basis, which NAHB analyzed in a previous post.

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This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

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Single-Family Permits Higher in August 2024

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Over the first eight months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 685,923. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 11.5% over the August 2023 level of 615,453.

Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned 16.2% in the West to 9.7% in the South. The Midwest was up by 12.3% and the Northeast was up by 10.3% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, three out of the four regions posted declines. The Northeast, driven by New York, was the only region to post an increase and was up by 28.9%. Meanwhile, the West posted a decline of 32.2%, the South declined by 21.8%, and the Midwest declined by 9.0%.

Between August 2024 YTD and August 2023 YTD, 47 states posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 44.5% in New Mexico to 1.5% in Maryland. New Hampshire (-1.2%), the District of Columbia (-3.2%), Hawaii (-7.9%), and Alaska (-21.4%) reported declines in single-family permits. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 63.5% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 110,907 permits over the first eight months of 2024, which is an increase of 12.4% compared to the same period last year. The succeeding highest state, Florida, was up by 5.0%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted an increase of 10.6%.

Year-to-date ending in August, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 326,080. This is 17.3% below the August 2023 level of 394,257.

Between August 2024 YTD and August 2023 YTD, 18 states recorded growth in multifamily permits, while 32 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline. Wyoming (+104.8%) led the way with a sharp rise in multifamily permits from 125 to 256, while the District of Columbia had the biggest decline of 68.1% from 2,072 to 661. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 64.1% of the multifamily permits issued. Over the first eight months of 2024, Texas, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, experienced a decline of 27.8%. Following closely, the second-highest state in multifamily permits, Florida, saw a decline of 25.1%. California, the third largest multifamily issuing state, decreased by 31.5%.

At the local level, below are the top ten metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.

For multifamily permits, below are the top ten local areas that issued the highest number of permits.

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State Level Employment Situation: August 2024

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Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states in August compared to the previous month, while 17 states and the District of Columbia saw a decrease. Kansas reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, following a gain of 89,000 jobs in July.

On a month-over-month basis, employment data was most favorable in Texas, which added 78,000 jobs. Texas accounted for more than half the jobs created nationwide in August. Indiana came in second (+19,800), followed by Minnesota (+14,400). A total of 42,400 jobs were lost across the 17 states and the District of Columbia, with New York reporting the steepest job losses at 7,400. In percentage terms, employment increased the highest in Texas and Indiana at 0.6%, while South Dakota saw the biggest decline at 0.7% between July and August.

Year-over-year ending in August, 2.4 million jobs have been added to the labor market across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The range of job gains spanned from 1,500 jobs in South Dakota to 302,400 jobs in Texas. In percentage terms, the range of job growth spanned 3.3% in Missouri to 0.3% in South Dakota.

Across the nation, construction sector jobs data1 —which includes both residential and non-residential construction—showed that 27 states and the District of Columbia reported an increase in August compared to July, while 20 states lost construction sector jobs. The three remaining states reported no change on a month-over-month basis. Texas, with the highest increase, added 8,300 construction jobs, while California, on the other end of the spectrum, lost 3,300 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 34,000 jobs in August compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Wyoming reported the highest increase at 2.3% and Tennessee reported the largest decline at 1.6%.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 228,000, which is a 2.8% increase compared to the August 2023 level. Texas added 36,600 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while Maryland lost 4,800 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, Alaska had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector at 17.8%. Over this period, Maine reported the largest decline of 4.7%.

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New Home Sales Fall in August

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Expectations of the Federal Reserve beginning the first in a series of rate reductions kept potential home buyers in a holding pattern in August.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in August fell 4.7% after an unusually strong July, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.  August new home sales registered a 716,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, after an upwardly revised estimate of 751,000 for July.

Despite the slip in August, the three-month moving average for new home sales is at its highest level since March of 2022. New home sales are up 4% on a year-to-date basis through August.

Builder sentiment and future sales expectations are improving as the Federal Reserve begins a credit easing cycle. However, due to the mortgage interest lock-in effect, declining interest rates will mean rising existing home inventories and some additional new competition for home builders.

While a 7.8 months’ supply may be considered elevated in normal market conditions, there is currently only a 4.1 months’ supply of existing single-family homes on the market. Combined, new and existing total months’ supply remains below historic norms at approximately 4.7, although this measure is expected to increase as more home sellers test the market in the months ahead.

A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the August reading of 716,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months.

New single-family home inventory increased 1.7% to 467,000 in August, a 7.8 months’ supply at the current sales pace.  Completed, ready to occupy inventory increased to 105,000 homes, which is the highest level since 2009. However, this share makes up only 22% of new home inventory.

Median new home price fell back to $420,600, down 4.6% from a year ago due to builder price incentives amid multidecade highs for housing affordability challenges. The Census data reveals a gain for new home sales priced below $300,000, which made up 18% of new home sales in August compared to 12% a year ago.

Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up in all four regions, rising 2.1% in the Northeast, 21.9% in the Midwest, 0.8% in the South and 4.7% in the West.

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Price Growth for Inputs to Residential Construction Slows in August

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Prices for inputs to new residential construction, excluding capital investment, labor and imports decreased 0.1% in August according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index was up 0.8% in August after a 1.8% increase in July. The inputs to new residential construction price index can be broken into two components­—one for goods and another for services. The goods component increased 0.2% over the year, while services increased 1.9%. For comparison, the total final demand index increased 1.7% over the year in August, with final demand goods flat and final demand services up 2.6% over the year.

Input Goods

The goods component has a larger importance to the total residential inputs price index, around at 60%. The price of inputs to residential construction, goods, remained flat in August after increasing 0.1% in July. The input goods to residential construction index can be further broken down into two separate components, one measuring energy inputs with the other measuring goods less foods and energy inputs. The latter of these two components simply represents building materials used in residential construction, which makes up around 93% of the goods index. Prices for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, were up 1.6% in August compared to a year ago. This year-over-year growth has come down since April, when it was at 2.5% and remains well below the growth in August of 2022, when it was at 14.7%.

The graph below focuses on the data since the start of 2023 for residential goods inputs. Energy prices have retreated over the past year, with only two periods of growth in 2024.

Input Services

Prices of inputs to residential construction, services, fell 0.2% in August after remaining flat in July. The price index for service inputs to residential construction can be broken out into three separate components, a trade services component, a transportation and warehousing services component, and a services less trade, transportation and warehousing component. The most vital component is trade services (around 60%), followed by services less trade, transportation and warehousing (around 29%), and finally transportation and warehousing services (around 11%).

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Single-Family Starts Up in August but Supply-Side Issues Linger

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Single-family starts posted a solid gain in August on robust demand and moderating mortgage rates even as builders continue to grapple with challenges related to lot and labor shortages and elevated prices for many building materials.

Overall housing starts increased 9.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The August reading of 1.36 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 15.8% to a 992,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. On a year-over-year basis, single-family starts are up 5.2% compared to August 2023. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are up 10.4%. The three-month moving average (a useful gauge given recent volatility) is down to 944,000 units, as charted below.

The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 4.2% to an annualized 364,000 pace. The three-month moving average for multifamily construction has trended upward to a 363,000-unit annual rate. On a year-over-year basis, multifamily construction is up 0.6%.

On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts are 1.9% lower in the Midwest, 2.1% lower in the Northeast, 4.4% lower in the West and 4.6% lower in the South.

The total number of single-family homes and apartments under construction was 1.5 million in August. This is the lowest total since November 2021. Total housing units now under construction are 11.1% lower than a year ago. Single-family units under construction fell to a count of 642,000—down 5.2% compared to a year ago. The number of multifamily units under construction has fallen to 867,000 units. This is down 15.0% compared to a year ago.

On a 3-month moving average basis, there are currently 1.8 apartments completing construction for every one that is beginning construction. While apartment construction starts are down, the number of completed units entering the market is rising due to prior elevated construction levels. Year-to-date, the pace of completions for apartments in buildings with five or more units is up 36.7% in 2024 compared to 2023. A higher pace of completions in 2024 for multifamily construction will place some downward pressure on rent growth.

Overall permits increased 4.9% to a 1.48-million-unit annualized rate in August. Single-family permits increased 2.8% to a 967,000 unit rate. Multifamily permits increased 9.2% to an annualized 508,000 pace.

Looking at regional data on a year-to-date basis, permits are 2.1% higher in the Midwest, 0.7% higher in the Northeast, 1.1% lower in the South and 6.2% lower in the West.

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August Job Gain Led by Construction

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Today’s jobs report and the newly released preliminary estimate of the benchmark revision indicate that the U.S. labor market is slowing from its overheated state in 2021 and 2022 but remains stable. Among all sectors, construction led the August job gains, adding 34,000 jobs to payrolls.

Additionally, wage growth accelerated in August. Wages grew at a 3.8% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.7 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which typically occurs as productivity increases.

National Employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, following a downwardly revised increase of 89,000 jobs in July, as reported in the Employment Situation Summary. The estimates for the previous two months were revised lower. The monthly change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 61,000, from +179,000 to +118,000, while the change for July was revised down by 25,000 from +114,000 to +89,000. Combined, the revisions were 86,000 lower than the original estimates.

Despite restrictive monetary policy, about 7.9 million jobs have been created since March 2022, when the Fed enacted the first interest rate hike of this cycle. In the first eight months of 2024, 1,475,000 jobs were created. Additionally, monthly employment growth averaged 184,000 per month, compared with the 251,000 monthly average gain for 2023.

In August, the unemployment rate eased slightly to 4.2%, from 4.3% in July. The August decrease in the unemployment rate reflected the decrease in the number of persons unemployed (-48,000) and the increase in the number of persons employed (+168,000).

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population either looking for a job or already holding a job—remained at 62.7%. However, for people aged between 25 and 54, the participation rate dipped slightly to 83.9%. This rate exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 83.1%. Meanwhile, the overall labor force participation rate is still below its pre-pandemic levels when it stood at 63.3% at the beginning of 2020.

For industry sectors, construction (+34,000), health care (+31,000), and social assistance (+13,000) had job gains in August, while manufacturing lost 24,000 jobs. Employment in other major industries showed little change over the month.

Construction Employment

Employment in the overall construction sector in August (+34,000) experienced an increase, from the 13,000 job gains in July. While residential construction gained 5,600 jobs, non-residential construction employment added 28,300 jobs for the month.

Residential construction employment now stands at 3.4 million in August, broken down as 951,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 5,667 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 63,100 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,385,000 positions.

In August, the unemployment rate for construction workers declined to 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 15.3% in April 2020, due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Mortgage Rates Continued to Decline in August

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Mortgage rates continued to decrease in August, landing at an average rate of 6.50%. According to Freddie Mac, the average monthly rate fell by 35 basis points (bps) from July’s rate of 6.85%. The August rate is down 57 bps from one year ago, which stood at 7.07%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also saw a decrease, dropping by 45 bps from July to 5.68%, and is now lower compared to last August by 75 bps. Additionally, the 10-year Treasury rate declined 30 bps from 4.28% in July to 3.98%.

Per the NAHB forecast, we expect 30-year mortgage rates to decline slightly to around 6.66% at the end of 2024 and eventually to decline to just under 6% by the end of 2025. The NAHB outlook anticipates the federal funds rate to be cut by 25 bps no later than the December Federal Reserve meeting, although it is possible for the Fed to cut rates in the upcoming FOMC meeting in September.

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Refinancing Activity Jumped in August as Mortgage Rates Declined

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The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, saw a month-over-month increase of 10.7% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. Compared to last August, the index increased by 20.8%. While the Purchase Index declined by 2.9%, month-over-month, the Refinance Index jumped 30.8% as borrowers took advantage of the declining mortgage rates to refinance higher-rate loans. On a yearly basis, the Purchase Index is down by 8.6%, while the Refinance Index increased by 87.2%.

The average monthly 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fallen for four straight months with August seeing the largest decrease of 40 basis points (bps), bringing the rate to 6.49%. The current rate is 73 bps lower than last August.

The average loan size for the total market (including purchases and refinances) is up 3.6% from July to $380,800 on a non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis. Similarly, the month-over-month change for purchase loans increased 0.6% to an average size of $426,600, while refinance loans rose by 18.5% to an average of $325,800. The average loan size for an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) also saw a steep increase of 9.5% for the same period, from $1.01 million to $1.1 million.

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Buying or selling a home set to change on August 17

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KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers issues connected to access to housing and rent costs. Share your story idea with Grant.

—

There are big changes coming to the way you buy or sell a home.

These changes stem from a series of lawsuits intended to make the home buying process more transparent.

The changes take effect August 17th.

An agent working with a buyer will have to work out an agreement before the prospective buyer and real estate agent look at a property together.

KSHB 41 News staff

Home in Kansas City area

“When a real estate agent says, ‘Hey, starting August 17th, you have to sign this agreement,’ they’re telling you the truth,” said Holden Lewis with NerdWallet.

You may be familiar with the standard five to six percent commission rate you’d have to pay in the past.

It’s split between buyer’s and seller’s agents and is often baked into the total cost of the home.

The changes mean there’s now an extra layer of negotiation that could change that standardized fee.

“It’s gonna specify how much you’re gonna pay that agent,” Lewis said.

Realtors like Kathleen Spiking with the Rob Ellerman Team say it might change how contracts are written and how they’re paid.

KSHB 41 News staff

Kathleen Spiking

“They’re training us on what’s going on, what’s does this look like, how does it appear in a contract,” Spiking said.

But since she’s always been upfront with costs, it won’t change the day-to-day.

“Personally, for me, it doesn’t affect the way that I run my business,” she said. “I still have communication up front with all of my clients, whether they’re buyers or sellers, and I think maybe for people it would be further and more thorough communication at the beginning and during the process of buying a home,” she said.

—





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