Easing Lumber Prices Allow Projects to Push Forward; Seller Activity Increases
- Completions climb to a three-month high. Builders finalized more single-family and multifamily housing units combined in July than in either of the previous two months.
- Inadequate supply pace sustains tight apartment vacancy. Nearly 1.4 million new households are projected to form in the U.S. this year as a result of both the aging millennial cohort and a broad-based economic improvement.
- More homes being sold a boon for some property types. Existing home sales jumped for the second straight month in July, while listings surpassed the 1 million threshold for the first time this year.
Developing Trends
- Widening disconnect between listings and the buyer pool. The number of new homes available for purchase, more than 90 percent of which are not yet built, rose for the fourth straight month in July to up 26 percent year over year.
- Revived trade may start to lessen material costs. More border openings and greater efficiencies in global trade are starting to resolve the backlog of building materials that resulted in rapid cost appreciation.
Sources: Marcus & Millichap Research Services; Capital Economics; Freddie Mac; Moody’s Analytics; Mortgage Bankers Association; National Association of Home Builders; National Association of Realtors; RealPage, Inc.; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau; Wells Fargo
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