For the latest news on the impact on the construction industry of recent financial shocks see Hanley Wood's "Housing Crisis" at: http://www.housingcrisis.com/
US Construction Spending Down 1.0% in July (a 10 year low)
Washington, DC - September 1, 2010 - The US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during July 2010 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $805.2 billion, 1.0 percent (±1.4%) below the revised June estimate of $813.1 billion. The July figure is 10.7 percent (±1.8%) below the July 2009 estimate of $901.2 billion. During the first 7 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $460.3 billion, 11.8 percent (±1.1%) below the $522.0 billion for the same period in 2009.
Canada's Housing Market Will Stabilize in 2011 - CMHC
Ottawa, ON - August 31, 2010 - After rebounding in the second half of 2009 and early 2010, housing starts are expected to moderate in the second half of 2010. Starts are expected to stabilize at levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in 2011, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) third quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition.
Washington, DC - August 25, 2010 - Sales of new single-family houses in July 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 276,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 12.4 percent (±10.8%) below the revised June rate of 315,000 and is 32.4 percent (±8.7%) below the July 2009 estimate of 408,000.
New York, NY - August 20, 2010 - The value of new construction starts in July advanced 7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $411.2 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Nonresidential building continued to see improvement after extremely depressed activity earlier in the year, and nonbuilding construction bounced back following its June slide. Both sectors in July were lifted by the start of several massive projects. Meanwhile, residential building lost momentum in July, as the housing recovery paused for an additional month. For the January-July period of 2010, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $238.0 billion, down 4% compared to a year ago.
Brussels - August 18, 2010 - In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production rose by 2.7% in the euro area (EA16) and by 3.5% in the EU27 in June 2010, compared with the previous month. In May, production fell by 0.7% and 0.1% respectively. Compared with June 2009, output in June 2010 increased by 3.1% in the euro area and by 5.4% in the EU27.
AIA: Still Showing Weakness, Architecture Billings Index Increases Slightly in July
Washington, DC - August 18, 2010 – Following a two-month soft patch the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rose almost two full points in July. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI score was 47.9, up from a reading of 46.0 the previous month. This score reflects a continued decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index dropped substantially from 57.7 to 53.1.
US Building Permits Drop in July, But Starts Increase
Washington, DC - August 17, 2010 - The US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for July 2010:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 565,000. This is 3.1 percent (±2.0%) below the revised June rate of 583,000 and is 3.7 percent (±2.2%) below the July 2009 estimate of 587,000. Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 416,000; this is 1.2 percent (±1.2%) below the revised June figure of 421,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 129,000 in July.
Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000. This is 1.7 percent (±9.7%) above the revised June estimate of 537,000, but is 7.0 percent (±7.5%) below the July 2009 rate of 587,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 432,000; this is 4.2 percent (±8.7%) below the revised June figure of 451,000. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 95,000.
Ottawa, ON - August 10, 2010 - The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 189,200 units in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annual rate estimate of housing starts activity was revised up in June from 189,300 units to 192,300 units. This results in a month-over-month decrease of 1.6 per cent in July.
Ottawa, ON - August 5, 2010 - The value of building permits totalled $6.6 billion in June, up 6.5% from May and a 24.9% increase from June 2009. The gain in June was due to the non-residential sector, which more than offset the decline in the residential sector.
AIA: Nonresidential Construction Down 20% in 2010 (recovery possible by end of 2011)
Washington, DC - July 14, 2010 – Even with modest improvements in the overall US economy, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by more than 20 percent in 2010 with a marginal increase of 3.1 percent in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms. Poor conditions remain because of an oversupply of nonresidential facilities in most construction categories, weak demand for space, continuing declines in commercial property values, and a strong reluctance to provide credit from real estate lenders.
Harvard's State of the Nation’s Housing Report- Job Growth is Key to a Broader Housing Recovery
Cambridge, MA - June 14, 2010 - Home sales and housing starts staged an uneven comeback starting in early 2009, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report released today by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Improved affordability for first-time homebuyers and extraordinary government intervention helped spark a turnaround and drove all of the increase in existing home sales last year, but record foreclosures continue to pressure markets and millions of homeowners.
US Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity - 5% increase in 2010
Cambridge, MA - April 15, 2010 - Home improvement spending will recover this year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA suggests annual spending will accelerate, with nearly five percent growth in 2010.
Brussels - February 17, 2010 - In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production increased by 0.5% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 in December 2009, compared with the previous month. In November, production fell by 0.8% and 0.4% respectively. Compared with December 2008, output in December 2009 dropped by 3.1% in the euro area and by 3.3% in the EU27. Compared with 2008, average construction output index in 2009 decreased by 8.0% in the euro area and by 8.2% in the EU27.
Washington, DC - February 1, 2010 - The US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during December 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $902.5 billion, 1.2 percent (±1.3%) below the revised November estimate of $913.2 billion. The December figure is 9.9 percent (±1.4%) below the December 2008 estimate of $1,002.1 billion. The value of construction in 2009 was $939.1 billion, 12.4 percent (±1.1%) below the $1,072.1 billion spent in 2008.
US December Construction Starts Up 5% (but down 26% for 2009) - McGraw-Hill
Bedford, MA - January 22, 2010 -New construction starts in December improved 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $425.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. While nonresidential building and housing were essentially steady with the prior month, the nonbuilding construction sector (public works and electric utilities) strengthened in December, providing the lift to total construction. For the full year 2009, total construction starts plunged 26% to $411.6 billion, marking the third straight year of diminished contracting after declines of 7% in 2007 and 13% in 2008.
US Building Permits Increase in December - Down 36.9% in 2009
Washington, DC - January 20, 2010 - Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 653,000. This is 10.9 percent (±2.4%) above the revised November rate of 589,000 and is 15.8 percent (±2.9%) above the December 2008 estimate of 564,000. Single-family authorizations in December were at a rate of 508,000; this is 8.3 percent (±1.2%) above the revised November figure of 469,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 127,000 in December. An estimated 571,600 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2009. This is 36.9 percent (±1.0%) below the 2008 figure of 905,400.
Canada's Construction Sector to Emerge from Recession "Unscathed"
Ottawa, ON - January 12, 2010 - Canada's construction industry is emerging from the recession relatively unscathed, thanks to its pre-recession record levels of investment and the more recent government stimulus initiatives. A preview of the Construction Sector Council's (CSC) 2010-2018 scenario-based forecast says that though building and employment decreased from October 2008 to July 2009, employment has been rising since August. This will likely continue because of new infrastructure projects, renovation and maintenance work, and strengthening housing starts.
Cleveland, OH - December 2, 2009 - by James MacGee for the Federal Reserve Bank of Clevelend: Housing markets in the United States and Canada are similar in many respects, but each has fared quite differently since the onset of the financial crisis. A comparison of the two markets suggests that relaxed lending standards likely played a critical role in the U.S. housing bust.
Productivity Swings and Housing Prices (by James Kahn)
New York, NY - July 9, 2009 - The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released "Productivity Swings and Housing Prices", the latest article in its series Current Issues in Economics and Finance. Challenging the notion that bubbles and lax lending standards can fully explain the recent housing crisis, author James A. Kahn argues that economic fundamentals—specifically, swings in labor productivity—played a significant role in the boom and bust of residential investment.
ASCE: Failing Infrastructure Cannot Support A Healthy Economy
Washington, DC - January 28, 2009 - Decades of underfunding and inattention have jeopardized the ability of our nation’s infrastructure to support our economy and facilitate our way of life. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today released its 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure—assigning a cumulative grade of D to the nation’s infrastructure and noting a five-year investment need of $2.2 trillion from all levels of government and the private sector. Since ASCE’s last assessment in 2005 there has been little change in the condition of the nation’s roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works, and the cost of improvement has increased by more than half a trillion dollars.
Architecture Billings Index as a Leading Indicator of Construction Spending
January 28, 2009 (www.CalculatedRiskBlog.com) - The blog site "CalculatedRisk" examines the close correlation between the American Institute of Architects' leading indicator the "Architectural Billing Index", and non-residential construction spending in the US. The graphs prepared by the author are worth examining.
Anatomy of a Meltdown: The Credit Crisis (by The Washington Post)
Washington, DC - June 17, 2008 - The Washington Post has completed (over the past three days) publication of what it calls the first comprehensive narrative explaining the US housing market collapse. If you follow directions to the web site below, the two journalists behind the series - Alec Klein and Zachary Goldfarb - describe how efforts to counter the 1990s bubbles pumped air into the housing market and set the stage for what became one of the biggest financial crises of the new century.
ASCE Blue Ribbon Panel – New Orleans Disaster Result of Bad Decisions
Reston, VA - June 4, 2007 - The American Society of Civil Engineers report: “The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why" concludes that Katrina's damage was made worse by years of poor decisions. The report – released on the first day of hurricane season - details the in-depth review by the ASCE Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET).
