Housing Figures: Single-Family Home Starts Up in September
November 14, 2019
Housing Figures is our monthly round-up of the top news stories related to residential new construction spending and the latest market numbers.
In this Housing Figures, we look at the latest in housing starts and the hottest markets (think buckeyes). We also look at what’s going on in multifamily, where rents are rising and inventory is tightening, and how inventory is doing on a national level.
Purchases of new homes fell slightly in September. New single-family home sales fell 0.7 percent to 701,000 units (a seasonally adjusted annual rate). But single-family home starts were up 0.3 percent to 918,000 homes (SAAR) in September, a 4.3 percent increase than a year earlier. [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development]
Fort Wayne, Indiana, still on top. Fort Wayne, Indiana, retained its number one position as the hottest housing market in October for the fourth month in a row. Meanwhile, Ohio metros also dominated in October with four markets — including Columbus and Springfield — making the list. [Realtor.com]
Multifamily rents rose as vacancy tightened. A recent Walker & Dunlop report found a healthy demand for apartment homes even as nearly 800,000 units are under construction. The report found rents grew by 3.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2019, while the vacancy rate declined to 5.8 percent. [MHN]
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Single-family median home prices increase. Prices increased year-over-year in 93 percent of measured markets in the third quarter of 2019. Those figures are up from the 91 percent share in the second quarter. The national median existing single-family home price was $280,200 in the third quarter, up 5.1 percent from Q3 2018. [Builder]
Housing is more affordable than it’s been in three years. An NAHB/Wells Fargo study found that housing affordability is at a three-year high. It’s due in large part to decreasing mortgage rates throughout 2019. [Housing Wire]
Mortgage rates spur decline in inventory. There were 98,000 fewer listings nationwide in October compared to the same month last year. "Owning a home continues to be a priority for buyers, as we head into the cooler months of the year. Driven by the tailwind of sub-4% mortgage rates, the steady demand for housing is drying market inventory at an accelerating pace," George Ratiu, Realtor.com’s senior economist, said. [Builder]
