New home sales in September jumped 18.9 percent from last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. September sales were 17 percent higher than a year ago. The median sales price was $319,700 and the average sales price $385,200. Inventory […]
The volume of light vehicle assemblies in the U.S. and Canada is declining at more than 15 percent per year as Mexico’s volume is increasing by 7.7 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of auto production in the NAFTA region. U.S. Vehicle Sales: U.S. new-vehicle sales surged in September to 18.6 million […]
Existing home sales picked up slightly in September following three months of declines, said the National Association of Realtors. However, ongoing supply shortages and recent hurricanes muted overall activity and caused sales to fall back on an annual basis, said the association. Total transactions rose 0.7 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate […]
The recent hurricanes dealt a blow to housing starts and authorizations in September, with construction data showing declines in the South. “We are seeing the hurricanes take a toll on single-family production, but builder confidence is strong and production should bounce back as the recovery process gets under way,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the […]
Below is the latest data released by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through August 2017. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for August 2017 increased 7.6 percent, […]
The Dodge Momentum Index slumped 8.4 percent to a reading of 116.4 in September. The index, published by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. Planning for […]
Total construction expenditures contracted in the three months through August year over year for the first time since November 2011, according to August data for construction put in place (CPIP) released by the Department of Commerce on Monday. Privately funded projects still have positive growth on a rolling 12-month basis, but are more than negated […]
Auto sales rebounded in September, jumping 6.1 percent to more than 1.5 million vehicles sold, and surpassing analyst expectations. Kelly Blue Book projected a sales growth of 1.0 percent while Edmunds expected an increase of only 0.4 percent. A boost in automotive sales came after Hurricane Harvey and is expected to continue through October and […]
New home sales slipped again in August after tumbling 9.4 percent in July, according to the latest report by Commerce. Sales of new single-family homes fell 3.4 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000. The rate was 1.2 percent below the August 2016 estimate of 567,000. Some of the […]
The Mexican share of light truck assemblies in NAFTA is expanding rapidly at the expense of the United States. Economy.com reported that U.S. new-vehicle sales dropped nearly 6.3 percent in August, reaching their lowest level at a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate since February 2014. August marks the eighth consecutive month in which sales were lower on […]
Home sales in the South are expected to be dampened for the rest of the year as a result of the hurricanes in Houston and Florida, says the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales slumped in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million, a retreat of 1.7 percent from July and […]
New residential building permits surged 5.7 percent month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million, according to the latest report from the Commerce Department. Single-family authorizations dipped 1.5 percent, but permits for housing of five units or more jumped 22.8 percent. Gains in August were concentrated in the Midwest and West, […]
Southeast Texas, including Houston, is considered one of the most affordable large housing markets in the nation, said Svenja Gudel, chief economist at Zillow. That may change in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. “Housing has historically been affordable in the area because it’s relatively easy to build homes there. Unfortunately, a lot of those homes […]
What happens to all those autos ruined by the double whammy of hurricanes in the South? Cox Automotive estimates 300,000 to 500,000 cars were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Auto-market researcher Black Book puts the total in Texas closer to one million. And millions more could be added to the toll after Hurricane Irma is tallied. […]
Below is the latest data released by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through July 2017. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for July 2017 decreased 8.4 percent, […]
U.S. automakers sold 1.48 million vehicles in August, a 1.9 percent drop from a year ago. A portion of that decline was the loss of an estimated 20,000 sales from the Houston area during the last week of August. Houston is the ninth-largest vehicle market in the U.S., and sales are expected to rebound as […]
The growth of total construction spending is slowing, though still positive year over year. July data for construction put in place (CPIP) was released by the Department of Commerce on Friday. Total construction still shows positive growth, but slowed to 0.9 percent year over year in the latest three months of data. Privately funded projects […]
Sales of new homes tumbled 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 and were 8.9 percent below the July 2016 estimate of 627,000. Median sales price was $313,700, compared to $310,800 in June, and at the highest July level ever. Average sales price was $371,200, down from $379,500 the previous month. Sales […]
Existing home sales slid 1.3 percent in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The seasonally adjusted annual rate dropped to 5.44 million from the downwardly revised June total of 5.51 million for the lowest level of the year. The decline in sales was steepest for condominiums and co-ops, falling 4.8 percent […]
Light vehicle assemblies in NAFTA declined sharply in July, according to data from Ward’s Automotive. Economy.com reported that U.S. vehicle sales totaled fewer than 17 million units at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in July for the fifth consecutive month. Sales were 16.76 million units annualized in July, down 5.9 percent on a year-ago […]
June’s rebound in housing starts was short-lived, according to data from the Department of Commerce on Wednesday. Housing starts dipped in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,155,000, 4.8 percent lower than the June estimate and 5.6 percent below the July 2016 rate. Construction of single-family homes was relatively steady, slipping just 0.5 […]
The “woodie” automobile, popular in the 1940s and ’50s, may be on its way back, but in a seriously different mode. Japanese researchers are developing the latest challenge to automotive steel, a super-strength, lightweight product that uses wood as a raw material. Cellulose nanofiber, made from wood pulp, is mixed into plastics forming a product […]
Below is the latest data released by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through June 2017. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for June 2017 increased 0.3 percent […]
Total construction expenditures are expanding slowly, but the contraction of infrastructure expenditures is accelerating, according to June data for construction put in place (CPIP) released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Aug. 1. Total construction still shows positive growth, but slowed to 1.3 percent year/year in the latest three months of data. Privately funded […]
Automotive sales dropped sharply for most manufacturers in July. Edmunds and WardsAuto estimate total sales for the month to be 1.42 million units. The seasonally adjusted annual rate for July is expected to be 16.9 million, according to WardsAuto. “July is historically a strong month, but with disappointing sales and inventories still building, something needs […]
Low supply muted sales of existing homes in June, said the National Association of Realtors. Sales slipped 1.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million, the second lowest level this year. Sales were 0.7 percent above the June 2016 rate. “Closings were down in most of the country last month […]
Light vehicle sales are slowing and Mexico continues to take production share from the U.S. Vehicle sales in the U.S. averaged 17.0 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in the first six months of 2017, down from 18.1 million in Q4 2016. March through June monthly sales were each below 17.0 million […]
Housing starts in June jumped 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000 and were 2.1 percent higher than in June 2016, said the Department of Commerce on Wednesday. The increase follows three months of decline and was driven by new construction in the Northeast and Midwest. Starts soared 83.7 percent in the […]
Below is the latest data released by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through May 2017. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for May 2017 increased 5.5 percent […]
The Dodge Momentum Index continued to exhibit strength in June, climbing 1.1 percent to 141.1. The monthly measure of nonresidential construction projects in planning was driven by a 4.8 percent jump in planning for institutional construction. The commercial component of the index dipped 1.3 percent, but was 11.8 percent higher than in June 2016. Institutional […]