Podcast: Has the Housing Upturn Begun?
In the latest episode of the Housing Developments podcast, NAHB CEO Jim Tobin and SVP Paul Lopez discuss two positive economic indices released this week: housing starts had a huge jump in May and builder confidence is in positive territory for the first time in 11 months. The co-hosts discuss the reality that these developments represent, including what this means for the inflationary environment in advance of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony on Capitol Hill.
Listen to Housing Developments wherever you get your podcasts, or watch a video of the full episode below.
Editor’s note: Find more in-depth analyses on starts and builder sentiment data on NAHB’s economics blog, Eye on Housing.
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Facing persistent inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve unanimously decided at its September policy meeting to raise the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4%.
Overall housing starts decreased 2.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Single-family housing starts rebounded in August, but production remains down 4.7% year to date as builders contend with rising construction costs, lot and labor shortages, and economic uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September policy meeting, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4%.
Higher mortgage rates, worsening labor shortages and rising material costs are weighing on builder sentiment.