Sales of existing homes fell to their lowest rate in nine months in January. Sales dropped 4.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales decline was widespread, affecting all regions in the U.S. “January housing data can be volatile because of seasonal influences, […]
The following article is normally produced just for our Premium level members. We are sharing the information today with all of our readers. The article is written by Peter Wright, consultant to Steel Market Update, Gerdau and the State of Wyoming. Peter, who is a metallurgist as well as market specialist, is also one of […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. November data was released on January 2nd. Construction put in place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect […]
As you may have noticed, we have been writing a series of articles highlighting the benefits of our Premium membership. Through the end of July, our Executive members will have access to our Premium content. If you have not yet explored our Premium content, such as SMU’s survey data or imports by product/port/country, I would […]
The following article is written by Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunch Risk LLC and the instructor for our brand new Managing Price Risk II: Strategies & Execution workshop. Every week we produce an article about futures trading and, in Andre’s case, about the broader financial markets. Andre begins with the a look at the financial […]
Will 2014 be a breakthrough year for construction? That was the premise of a webinar presented by Reed Construction Data paneled by Bernie Markstein, US chief economist at Reed Construction Data; Kermit Baker, chief economist at the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The […]
Will 2014 be a breakthrough year for construction? That was the premise of a webinar presented by Reed Construction Data paneled by Bernie Markstein, US chief economist at Reed Construction Data; Kermit Baker, chief economist at the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The […]
We were somewhat in disbelief when we analyzed the March housing data this week but on checking the formulas in our spread sheets it appears that our first impression was correct. Table 1 shows building permits and housing starts data for Q1 2014 compared to Q1 2013. Total construction starts were down by 3.6 percent […]
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed year-over-year gains of 13.6 percent in October, according to data released December 31, 2013—the largest gain since Feb. 2006. The monthly gain for October 2013 for the 10-city and 20-city composites was 0.2 percent. In the twenty city composite, eighteen cities posted lower monthly rates in October than September […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Home prices showed strong gains at the end of 2012 according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The national composite increased 7.3 percent in 2012 after surging in the second and third quarter and dipping slightly in the fourth period. The yearly indices for the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual […]