August Housing Starts Rise; Drop in Permits Casts Shadow

The good news: August housing starts beat expectations, rising by more than 12 percent from July. The bad news: housing permits fell just as dramatically, lending uncertainty to an already volatile 2022 housing market.

Employers Add 315,000 August Jobs

July job growth slowed from June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday—but analysts said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

July Construction Spending Tapers

Construction spending fell in July, marking the second consecutive monthly drop, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

July Job Openings Overwhelm Pool of Available Workers

In the first of four major employment reports this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported job openings rose to 11.2 million as of the end of July, more than double the pool of available workers.

Home Price Reports: ‘Deceleration’ is Key Word

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported an 18 percent annual gain in June, still hot but well off the 19.9 percent pace in May. And the Federal Housing Finance Agency also reported deceleration in June, to 17 percent.

GDP: 2Q Pace of Slowing Decreases

The U.S. economy continued to slow in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, although not at a pace as dramatically earlier this summer.

July New Home Sales at 6-1/2 Year Low; Price Growth Decelerates

New home sales fell to their slowest pace in six and a half years, while inventories stockpiled, HUD and the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. In a separate report, RE/MAX, Denver, said median home sales prices fell for the first time since January

Existing Home Sales Fall to 2-Year Low

Existing home sales fell under five million annually for the first time in more than two years, marking the sixth consecutive monthly decrease, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

July Housing Starts Take Sharp Hit

It already hasn’t been a good week for housing. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders reported its Housing Market Index fell for the eighth straight month to two-year low. And on Tuesday, HUD and the Census Bureau reported housing starts fell in July by nearly double digits to its slowest pace since 2020.