Homebuilder Sentiment Lowest Since December, Zelman & Assocs. Survey Finds
(Image courtesy of Zelman & Associates)
Zelman & Associates, a Walker & Dunlop company, New York, released its latest homebuilding survey, finding that builder sentiment is at the lowest level since December. It was the third straight month of sentiment slipping.
June’s seasonally adjusted order pace was fractionally higher on a sequential basis.
That stabilization in seasonally-adjusted orders follows four straight months of weaker-than-seasonal numbers, and the current pace ranks in the 95th percentile of months between 2008-2019.
There was a 5% decrease in orders on a non-seasonally adjusted sequential basis, however, that’s consistent with conditions in June from 2009-2019.
On a year-over-year basis, orders were down 8%, the third straight decline. But, that’s better than a 10% drop in May.
Cancellations were flat from May, at 10% of gross orders–above year-ago levels but on the lower end compared with historical data.
New starts fell by 5% sequentially, per the survey, and 4% from June 2023 in the first year-over-year decline since May 2023.
On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, pricing was down 2%–the first pullback since December. Year-over-year, net prices are up less than 1%.
The share of survey respondents raising prices in June was at 12%–the lowest since 2008 and below norms.
Material and cost inflation was up 1.8% year-over-year. Respondents also highlighted concerns related to challenges with property insurance rates and additional cost pressures associated with building code changes.
The survey of private homebuilders captures approximately 15% of production single-family new home sales, encompassing virtually all of the top 75 markets as ranked by single-family permit activity.
