Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,297,000.

• 5.9% (±1.4 percent) above the revised September rate of 1,225,000;
• 0.9% (±1.6 percent)* above the October 2016 rate of 1,285,000.
• Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 839,000;
• 1.9% (±1.7 percent) above the revised September figure of 823,000.

Authorizations of U.S. residential units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 416,000 in October 2017.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned U.S. housing starts in October 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,290,000.

• This is 13.7% (±10.5 percent) above the revised September estimate of 1,135,000;
• 2.9% (±10.1 percent)* below the October 2016 rate of 1,328,000.
• Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 877,000;
• 5.3% (±12.1 percent)* above the revised September figure of 833,000.

The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 393,000.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned United States housing completions in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,232,000.

• 12.6% (±12.2 percent) above the revised September estimate of 1,094,000;
• 15.5% (±11.7 percent) above the October 2016 rate of 1,067,000.
• Single-family housing completions in October were at a rate of 793,000;
• 2.6% (±11.1 percent)* above the revised September rate of 773,000.

The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 433,000.

The November 2017 U.S. new residential construction starts, permits and completions report is scheduled for release on December 19, 2017.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for September 2017:

New U.S. Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000.

• 4.5% (±1.6 percent) below the revised August rate of 1,272,000 and is 4.3% (±1.7 percent) below the September 2016 rate of 1,270,000.
• Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 819,000; this is 2.4% (±1.7 percent) above the revised August figure of 800,000.
• Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 360,000 in September.

September 2017 Housing Starts

Privately-owned new U.S. housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,127,000.

• 4.7% (±8.1 percent)* below the revised August estimate of 1,183,000, but is 6.1% (±8.8 percent)* above the September 2016 rate of 1,062,000.
• Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 829,000; this is 4.6% (±8.5 percent)* below the revised August figure of 869,000.
• The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 286,000.

U.S. Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in September 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,109,000.

• 1.1% (±12.4 percent)* above the revised August estimate of 1,097,000 and is 10.3% (±11.9 percent)* above the September 2016 rate of 1,005,000.
• Single-family housing completions in September were at a rate of 781,000; this is 4.6% (±11.4 percent)* above the revised August rate of 747,000.
• The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 322,000.

The October Residential Construction report is anticipated on November 17, 2017.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following residential vacancies and homeownership statistics for the United States during the second quarter 2017:

• National vacancy rates in the second quarter 2017 were 7.3 percent for rental housing and 1.5 percent for homeowner housing.
• The rental vacancy rate of 7.3 percent was 0.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the second quarter 2016 (6.7%) and 0.3 percentage points higher than the rate in the first quarter 2017 (7.0%).
• The homeowner vacancy rate of 1.5 percent was 0.2 percentage points lower than the rates in the second quarter 2016 and the first quarter 2017 (1.7 percent each).
• The homeownership rate of 63.7 percent was 0.8 percentage points higher than the rate in the second quarter 2016 (62.9%) and not statistically different from the rate in the first quarter 2017 (63.6%).

The second quarter 2017 U.S. rental vacancy rate was highest outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (8.8%) while the rates inside principal cities (7.2%) and in the suburbs (7.1%) were not statistically different from each other.

U.S. Homeowner Vacancy Rate

The homeowner vacancy rate was highest outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (2.1%).

The second quarter 2017 rental vacancy rate was highest in the South (9.0%), followed by the Midwest (8.0%), West (6.0%) and Northeast (5.2%).

U.S. Rental Vacancy Rate

The rental vacancy rate in the West was higher than the second quarter 2016 rate, while the rates in the Northeast, Midwest and South were not statistically different from the second quarter 2016 rates.

• The homeowner vacancy rate was higher in the South (1.8%) than in the Midwest (1.4%) and West (1.3%), but not statistically different from the rate in the Northeast (1.6%).
• The homeowner vacancy rate in the South was lower than the second quarter 2016 rate, while the rates in the Northeast, Midwest and West were not statistically different from the second quarter 2016 rates.

The second quarter 2017 homeownership rate was highest in the Midwest (68.0%), followed by the South (65.5%), Northeast (60.4%) and West (58.9%).

• Approximately 87.1 percent of the housing units in the United States in the second quarter 2017 were occupied and 12.9 percent were vacant.
• Owner-occupied housing units made up 55.5 percent of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 31.6 percent of the inventory in the second quarter 2017.
• Vacant year-round units comprised 9.8 percent of total housing units, while 3.1 percent were for seasonal use.
• Approximately 2.5 percent of the total units were for rent, 0.9 percent were for sale only and 0.9 percent were rented or sold but not yet occupied.

Vacant units that were held off market comprised 5.5 percent of the total housing stock at 1.6 percent were for occasional use, while 1.0 percent were temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence elsewhere (URE) and roughly 2.8 percent were vacant for a variety of other reasons.

Next release date for this report from the U.S. Census Bureau: October 31, 2017

Total mortgage refinance volume decreased in July 2017 as mortgage rates in June remained above the lows observed in 2016 according to the latest FHFA Refinance Report.

Overall U.S. mortgage rates increased in July as the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.97 percent from 3.90 percent in June.

Key takeaways from the report year to date through July 2017:

• Borrowers who refinanced through HARP had a lower delinquency rate compared to borrowers eligible for HARP who did not refinance through the program.
• Nine states and one U.S. territory accounted for over 60 percent of the Nation’s HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of March 31, 2017.
• Borrowers completed 2,305 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,473,109.
• HARP volume represented 2 percent of total refinance volume.
• Seven percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.
• Borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 19 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• Twenty-six percent of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15- and 20-year mortgages, which build equity faster than traditional 30-year mortgages.
• HARP refinances represented 6 or more percent of total refinances in Nevada, and Florida, double the 3 percent of total refinances nationwide over the same period.

Overview of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) FHFA Refinance

HARP was established in 2009 to assist homeowners unable to access a refinance due to a decline in their home value.

The program is designed to provide these borrowers with an opportunity to refinance by permitting the transfer of existing mortgage insurance to their newly refinanced loan, or by allowing those without mortgage insurance on their previous loan to refinance without obtaining new coverage.

On August 17, 2017, HARP was extended once more to expire on December 31, 2018.

U.S. lenders started the public foreclosure process on 29,675 U.S. properties in July 2017, a drop of 5 percent from June and 19 percent from a year earlier.

Newly initiated home foreclosures have been below the pre-crisis (2005 and 2006) monthly average of 52,280 since March 2015.

Lenders completed the foreclosure process (bank repossessions or REOs) on 18,149 U.S. properties in July, a decrease of 29 percent from the previous month and 35 percent from the previous year.

The pre-crisis (2005–2006) average of U.S. home foreclosure completions was 23,120 properties a month. Year-over-year foreclosure completions have declined every month but one since March 2016.

Prior to that, annual foreclosure completions had declined for 27 consecutive months before starting to increase in March 2015.

It is good to note that foreclosure activity has been volatile over the last few years as states with a substantial pool of foreclosure inventory moved to reduce the backlog.

The listed inventory of new homes for sale at the end of July would support 5.8 months of sales at the current sales pace, up from 5.2 months in June and 4.5 months in July 2016.

The listed inventory of existing homes for sale at the end of July 2017 represents a 4.2-month supply of existing homes for sale, the same as in June but down from 4.8 months a year earlier.

The low inventory of homes for sale on the U.S. housing market has been a constraint on sales for several years now…

The long-term average for months’ supply of homes on the market is about 6.0 months.

U.S. new single-family home sales fell 9.4 percent to 571,000 (SAAR) from an upwardly revised pace of 630,000 in June and were 8.9 percent lower than a year earlier.

The drop in sales followed a solid pace (averaging 615,000) for the first half of the year. Note that monthly data on new home sales can be volatile and are often revised. (Sources: HUD and Census Bureau.)

Sales of previously owned (existing) homes slipped in July 2017.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported that sales of existing homes (including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and cooperatives) declined 1.3 percent to 5.44 million (SAAR) in July from a downwardly revised 5.51-million pace the previous month.

Sales were up 2.1 percent from a year ago but were at their lowest pace since August 2016.

Total U.S. home sales were depressed by weakness in the Northeast and Midwest.

HUD’s Rental Affordability Index, at 112.6, fell 5 percent from both the first quarter of 2017 and over the preceding four-quarter period.

The decline in the ability to lease a home in the U.S. resulted from a rise of 4.8 percent in the real, or inflation-adjusted, median price of a rental home and including a 0.1-percent decline in the inflation-adjusted median income of a renter household.

NAR’s Home Affordability Index indicates that the affordability of purchasing a home was
down 6 percent from both the first quarter of 2017 and a year ago.

The next U.S. rental affordability data set for the third quarter of 2017 is due out in October.