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QUOTE OF
THE WEEK... "I don't care too
much what happened in the past. I prefer to focus on what is coming next and I
am really looking forward to it." --Sebastian Vettel, World Champion
Formula One driver
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... It would do us good to not focus too much on the past month's housing data. Housing Starts were down 16.0% in January, to an 880,000 unit annual rate. But this report really can be blamed on the weather. When it's wet, cold, and snowy, it's pretty hard to move dirt. And that was the weather in much of the U.S. Looking forward, many observers see home price increases moderating and inventory building, which should keep buyers interested. Compared to a year ago, the number of homes under construction is up 27% and new Building Permits are up 2.4%, so builders are clearly planning to stay active.
Existing Home Sales were down 5.1% in January, to a 4.62 million annual rate, only slightly below expectations. This was put to both the unusually harsh weather in much of the country and the lack of inventory, which could lead buyers to new home purchases. In fact, there are now just 1.9 million existing homes in inventory, relatively low for our population and the total number of homes. But median prices for existing homes are up 10.7% versus a year ago, which should encourage more sellers to come into the market. Analysts are saying that the underlying trends in housing remain "positive" to "strong."
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Athletes at the Winter Olympics got there by setting very high goals and then persistently pursuing them when setbacks came. Those same actions will get us where we want to go in business.
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... It would do us good to not focus too much on the past month's housing data. Housing Starts were down 16.0% in January, to an 880,000 unit annual rate. But this report really can be blamed on the weather. When it's wet, cold, and snowy, it's pretty hard to move dirt. And that was the weather in much of the U.S. Looking forward, many observers see home price increases moderating and inventory building, which should keep buyers interested. Compared to a year ago, the number of homes under construction is up 27% and new Building Permits are up 2.4%, so builders are clearly planning to stay active.
Existing Home Sales were down 5.1% in January, to a 4.62 million annual rate, only slightly below expectations. This was put to both the unusually harsh weather in much of the country and the lack of inventory, which could lead buyers to new home purchases. In fact, there are now just 1.9 million existing homes in inventory, relatively low for our population and the total number of homes. But median prices for existing homes are up 10.7% versus a year ago, which should encourage more sellers to come into the market. Analysts are saying that the underlying trends in housing remain "positive" to "strong."
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Athletes at the Winter Olympics got there by setting very high goals and then persistently pursuing them when setbacks came. Those same actions will get us where we want to go in business.
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