In June, new home construction in the US accelerated, yet a drop in single-family housing starts to an eight-month low highlighted challenges in the real estate market exacerbated by high interest rates… According to Yahoo, building permits, a proxy of future construction activity, rose 3.4% to a 1.45 million annual rate, also driven by a pickup in applications for multifamily projects. Authorizations for single-family homes decreased 2.3% to the slowest pace in more than a year. The strong pace of single-family construction seen at the end of last year is fading. The report also showed the nu ..read more

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) aims to assess and monitor the current state of the single-family housing market. This index relies on a monthly survey of single-family builders, who are queried about their evaluations of three key aspects of the housing market: According to the NAHB, builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes fell to 42 in July, down one point from the previous month. Higher-for-longer mortgage interest rates, as well as elevated rates for construction and development loans, continue to put a damper on builder sentiment. All three HMI compone ..read more

Land Advisors Organization’s Nashville land team completes transaction, paving the way for 155 new residential units in Desirable Murfreesboro District.    NASHVILLE (July 18, 2024) – Land Advisors Organization’s Nashville office announces that Ashton Woods recently purchased the 17.62-acre Garden District parcel within Hines’ Clari Park Mixed-Use Master Planned Development for $7.0 M. Ashton Woods plans to build 155 ‘for sale’ residential units comprised of 134 townhomes and 21 single-family homes on the site, which is fully entitled, engineered, and permitted. Constr ..read more

Phase one of construction now underway in northeast Hutto   AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 16, 2024) – Tri Pointe Homes® (NYSE:TPH), one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., has announced the acquisition and imminent groundbreaking of 59 single family homesites in Hutto, Texas. Tri Pointe’s home offerings will be part of phase one at Flora, an 825-acre planned community developed by Empire Continental Land, the Texas land division of Empire Communities.  “Flora represents an incredible opportunity for Tri Pointe to offer new homes in one of the most rapidly expanding parts of Austin ..read more

Higher interest rates for home mortgages and construction loans constrained both single-family home production and demand in June. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, overall housing starts rose by 3.0% in June to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units. According to the NAHB, lower single-family starts are in line with our latest industry surveys, which show that builders are concerned about the current high interest rate environment. With better inflation data, the Federal Reserve is expected to beg ..read more

Clients frequently approach the team for guidance in defining rental community asset classes, including apartments and build-to-rent properties, as well as their various product types. Acknowledging the variability in terminology across different organizations nationwide, the team emphasizes the importance of consistent definitions to streamline industry practices and reduce confusion. To address this need, a comprehensive guide has been developed. According to John Burns, apartments are a well-established asset class in the rental market, comprising multifamily buildings with multiple units u ..read more

During the fiscal year ending on June 30, Washington County authorized 386 building permits for the construction of single-family homes, totaling $140.9 million in valuation. This marked an increase of 88 permits compared to the 298 issued in the preceding fiscal year. As the 2024 fiscal year concluded, Washington County issued 21 building permits for single-family home construction, amounting to an estimated total valuation of $9.4 million. According to the Johnson City Press, a total of 805 building permits were issued during the last fiscal year for construction in non-incorporated areas of ..read more

According to NAHB’s analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), in 2023, the majority of new single-family homes were constructed using slab foundations (72.4%), followed by those with full or partial basements (16.6%), and crawl spaces (9.9%). The prevalence of homes built on slab foundations has steadily increased from 45.8% in 2000 to 72.4% in 2023. The most significant rise occurred from 2022 to 2023, with a 3.9 percentage point increase, compared to an average annual increase of 1.93 percentage points over the preceding five years. Conversely, the proportion of homes with full or partia ..read more

Housing economists generally recommend that a balanced market inventory equates to a supply lasting five to six months. This metric indicates the duration it would take to sell the current count of homes based on the present monthly sales rate. According to the NAHB, inventory larger than a five- to six-month supply would suggest weaker or declining home price growth and home building activity. Lean inventory levels (less than a five- to six-month supply) tend to lead to price growth and gains for home building activity. In the Census May 2024 newly built home sales data, the current months’ s ..read more

Toll Brothers, Inc. the premier builder of luxury homes in the nation, has unveiled four new home designs at The Isles at Lakewood Ranch. This new master-planned community in Lakewood Ranch, Florida features distinctive architecture and comprehensive resort-style amenities, creating much anticipation among homebuyers. According to GlobalNewswire, the Isles at Lakewood Ranch has unveiled new one- and two-story single-family home designs featuring flexible spaces and contemporary architecture. The four new home designs range from 3,287 to 4,821+ square feet, with 3 to 5 bedrooms, 2.5 to 4.5 bath ..read more