Posts
QUOTE OF
THE WEEK... "One who stops
being better stops being good." --Oliver Cromwell, English military and
political leader
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Last week, we who work in the housing market were given more opportunity to be better, as February Housing Starts dipped 0.2%, to an annual rate of 907,000 units. But wait, as they say on the infomercials. All the dip camp from multi-family units. Single-family starts were actually UP 0.3%. With the ground frozen or snow covered in much of the country, builders still stayed busy inside. As evidence, completions shot up 4.4% in February and are up 21.9% over a year ago. Anticipating a good spring, builders pushed Building Permits up 7.7% in February.
The 4-month moving average for Housing Starts is the highest since July 2008. Some economists feel the underlying trend for home building is upward and should remain that way for a couple of years. February, however, saw Existing Home Sales dip 0.4%, to a 4.60 million annual rate. But these closings came from contracts signed when harsh weather was slowing many markets. A lack of inventory has also been sending buyers to new homes. But median prices are up 9.1% annually, encouraging more sellers to list, and inventories were up 120,000 units in February, so existing home sales should rebound in March and April.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Treat each client as if she were your only client. When you're working for her, focus on solving the problem at hand and tune everything else out.
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Last week, we who work in the housing market were given more opportunity to be better, as February Housing Starts dipped 0.2%, to an annual rate of 907,000 units. But wait, as they say on the infomercials. All the dip camp from multi-family units. Single-family starts were actually UP 0.3%. With the ground frozen or snow covered in much of the country, builders still stayed busy inside. As evidence, completions shot up 4.4% in February and are up 21.9% over a year ago. Anticipating a good spring, builders pushed Building Permits up 7.7% in February.
The 4-month moving average for Housing Starts is the highest since July 2008. Some economists feel the underlying trend for home building is upward and should remain that way for a couple of years. February, however, saw Existing Home Sales dip 0.4%, to a 4.60 million annual rate. But these closings came from contracts signed when harsh weather was slowing many markets. A lack of inventory has also been sending buyers to new homes. But median prices are up 9.1% annually, encouraging more sellers to list, and inventories were up 120,000 units in February, so existing home sales should rebound in March and April.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... Treat each client as if she were your only client. When you're working for her, focus on solving the problem at hand and tune everything else out.
No comments:
Post a Comment