February Existing Home Sales Drop 7.2%

Existing home sales continued their yo-yo pattern, falling by 7.2 percent in February amid a stifling lack of inventory, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday.

May Housing Starts Seesaw Back on Track

One step back; one step forward. Housing starts have alternated between up and down during 2021, and in keeping with the pattern, improved in May after declining in April, HUD and the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

May Employment Up 559,000; Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.8%

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 559,000 in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday—up substantially from May’s tepid numbers but still below consensus expectations, as hiring slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

2nd Look at 1Q GDP Unchanged at 6.4%

Second verse, same as the first: The Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday said its second (revised) estimate of 1st quarter gross domestic product showed economic growth increased at an annual rate of 6.4 percent, unchanged from its first estimate in April.

May Consumer Confidence Holds Steady

The Conference Board, New York, reported its monthly Consumer Confidence Index held steady in May, following a gain in April. The Index now stands at 117.2, down marginally from 117.5 in April.

Home Prices Maintain Robust Pace

Home prices continued to post double-digit annual gains amid a red-hot spring housing market, according to the Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

New Home Sales Tumble to 10-Month Low

New home sales took a double hit yesterday, according to HUD and the Census Bureau: not only did April new home sales fall by nearly 6 percent, March sales revised sharply downward by more than 10 percent.

April Existing Home Sales Fall 2.7%

Existing home sales in fell for the third straight month in April, hamstrung by tight inventories and rising home prices, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday.

Supply Issues Hold Back April Housing Starts

Supply constraints continue to prevent a sizzling housing market from turning white-hot, with April housing starts falling by nearly 10 percent, HUD and the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

April Jobs Numbers Come in Well Below Consensus

In the days ahead of last Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prognosticators went big, with consensus anticipating nearly one million new April jobs and even one economist confidently predicting 2.1 million new jobs. Alas, nearly everyone was wrong.