Blog
Unemployment Numbers Mean Trouble for Housing
Yesterday, we talked about how the housing decline was costing Hispanics construction jobs–but, according to today’s unemployment report, the whole industry is suffering. That’s not to say that Hispanic workers are any better off than they were earlier this week, as evident by the number of articles that have popped up in the past few days about the issue, including: One in the Washington Post, which features Javier Amurrio, a 38-year-old immigrant from Argentina who was unemployed for 7 months in 2007 and became one of the Hispanic homeowners discussed in our earlier blog who lost his home as a…
The Hispanic Community Is Important To The Housing Industry–In More Than One Way
Today’s daily news contained an item about how the sinking construction market is hurting the Hispanic community–and while that effect is just now becoming apparent, it’s likely to alter the industry for months to come. What’s happening: A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that the seasonally adjusted Hispanic unemployment rate reached 6.5 percent in the first quarter. By comparison, for non-Hispanics, the unemployment rate was just 4.7 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. In addition, Hispanics are making less: Weekly earnings have fallen from $512 a week in 2006 to $480 a week this year. According…
A Tough Week for New York’s Rental, Construction Market
Two news stories this week showcased the New York apartment market’s current troubles–both with building, and with renting. Last week, we covered the sad news of yet another fatal crane collapse at a residential building site in New York–the city’s second in recent weeks. Not surprisingly, the city has reacted strongly: They’ve stopped use of the Kodiak cranes, and developers at five sites are losing thousands per day as a result, according to Crain’s New York Business. Temporary buildings commissioner Robert LiMandri issued stop-work orders for all seven of the Kodiak cranes operating in New York so that the city…
Apartments Are A Hot Housing Choice, According to Survey
The multifamily market should have a strong year in 2009, according to a new National Apartment Association survey. The survey–conducted by market researcher Harris Interactive–found: 69 percent of renters plan to stay renters for up to five more years. 50 percent of the renters surveyed plan to continue living in their current residence for the next year. An additional 46 percent of renters have no plans to buy a residence within the next year. Why? The survey also found that consumer confidence in the U.S. housing market is low; 80 percent of U.S. adults think the market won’t improve in…
New England Multifamily Market Is In For A Rocky Ride
Small multifamily building owners in New England–and their renters–are having a harder time staying afloat during the housing crisis than local single-family homeowners. New England has almost 320,000 two- and three-family homes; it’s one of the region’s charming characteristics. But lending standards are tougher for multifamily properties–which, along with rising adjustable-rate mortgages (according to Connecticut affiliate NBC 30), means the multifamily sector has been hit hard, according to a recent Associated Press article printed in the Boston Herald. New England hasn’t had it easy through the housing slump. Its economy has struggled, and housing experienced severe declines in states like…
The Group That May Push the Foreclosure Rate Sky High
The rising U.S. foreclosure rate has prompted an outbreak of proposed bills and programs from Congress and local lawmakers to help families save their homes–but according to Bloomberg, the average American family isn’t in nearly as much as trouble as the country’s military families. Foreclosures in towns with high populations of U.S. soldiers are growing rapidly–at a pace almost four times the national average, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. Why? For many of the same reasons the rest of the country is struggling with foreclosure issues: Lured by the promise of low rates and simple terms, military families signed…
Online Real Estate Brokers vs. Traditional Agents: Is This War?
As part of the settlement announced Tuesday in an antitrust case between the Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors, non-Internet-based brokers will now be allowed greater use of multiple listing services, according to the New York Times. Online brokers felt "that the industry’s practices have denied them the chance to make full use of the multiple listing services," the Times said. It seems that wasn’t the only complaint online brokers had about the industry. Today–while perusing the Internet for my daily housing news fix–I stumbled across this press release from ForSaleByOwner.com, in which the site offers data "to…
Is Affordable Housing in Danger?
Foreclosures have been hurting the single-family home market for months–and making headlines as families lost their homes due to loan resets and sinking equity. The historically high foreclosure rate has caused growth in the rental market as former homeowners look for a new place to live; but the effect on the apartment market hasn’t all been positive. Because apartment buildings have owners, too–and those owners sometimes default and enter into foreclosure–renters can get kicked out with little notice. And as some recent reports indicate, the small multifamily building market–which offers affordable housing options for families in many cities–may be in…
Homebuilder Woes Have More Than One Cause–And More Than One Effect
Homeowners, of course, aren’t the only ones who have suffered during the U.S. housing decline; and reports of builders struggling to make ends meet as residential construction dwindle are growing more frequent. But lower community home prices and reduced sales of local homes aren’t the only factors to blame. Take, for example, Texas. The state withstood much of the housing decline and actually added construction jobs: 23,000 since the end of 2006. But in the first three months of the year, builders broke ground on 5,218 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That’s less than half of the construction starts…
Why Aren’t Lower Prices Translating into Higher Sales?
The hotly-anticipated National Association of Realtors report on home sales was released this morning–and, as expected, it showed that home sales fell last month. Sales of pre-existing homes declined to an annual pace of 4.89 million. The good news: That’s only a 1 percent fall from March’s revised 4.94 million reading. The bad news: The existing home sales rate is still almost 18 percent less than April 2007. That includes single-family homes, townhomes, co-ops and condos; and it suggests the housing slump is dragging on, even as we approach the year’s halfway point. That news wasn’t encouraging–but it wasn’t the…