Recent reports from BuildFax have indicated the housing construction slowdown may be easing up. Its latest report, the October Housing Health Report, found single-home authorizations increase year-over-year for the first time since September 2018, Housing Wire reports. The report also finds remodeling activity—both in volume and spending—were healthy and positive in October.
“Last November, housing activity experienced the first instance of blanket declines since 2011, when the economy was still recovering from the 2008 recession,” said Jonathan Kanarek, managing director of BuildFax. “Almost a year following November’s declines, we’re now seeing blanket increases.”
“In light of the recent upswing in housing activity, it’s likely the 2019 housing slide was a stabilization of a white-hot market,” he said. “This is, of course, further bolstered by a strengthening economy that recently experienced interest rate cuts, steady wage growth, and a reversion in the yield curve.”
The blanket increase Kanarek noted also applies to activity within the existing housing supply. BuildFax refers to existing housing maintenance as “a gauge of consumer confidence.” Since the beginning of September, the company has been reporting increases in that index. The trend continues as existing maintenance volume and spending gained 6.08% and 12.67% year over year, respectively. According to BuildFax, maintenance activity has now increased for more than a full quarter.
“Additionally, remodel volume and spend—a subset of maintenance that includes renovations, additions, and alterations—increased 6.83% and 9.18%, respectively,” the report states. ”Year-over-year remodeling activity has started to outpace maintenance activity, increasing at a faster rate since June. This suggests homeowner project size and scope have likely been higher over the past few months.”
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