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Housing Economics

Trash Inventory Is Not Satisfying

Because many foreclosed homes have fallen into disrepair, demand for trouble-free new homes could soar once the market stabilizes.

Builders continue to wonder whether the U.S. housing market will reverse course or continue to free-fall. With wave after wave of confidence-killing news, it’s hard to imagine when the housing recession will end. The good news is, with many foreclosed homes falling into disrepair, demand for new homes that are trouble-free will increase dramatically once market conditions stabilize.

When the stories of economic calamity, sovereign defaults, and political unrest are not enough for news headlines, it must be time to sprinkle in some hype and speculation of a potential bubble bursting in Canada’s housing market.

Could Fragile China Take Down U.S.?

With property values falling in China, many observers believe time is running out for the United States to get its economy back on track.

Headlines from China reveal that even its booming economy is not immune to declines in housing. The news site Xinhuanet.com reported on April 8 that property prices in multiple Chinese cities fell 3 to 5 percent. While your initial reaction may lack sympathy for the Chinese, (since their government is intentionally trying to lower house values) you might want to pinch yourself and reevaluate the situation.

After all, the Chinese are one of the leading buyers of U.S. treasury bonds — the only source of cash allowing the printing presses at the U.S. Treasury...

Car sales are up, apartment vacancies down, and a few builders are doing well.

It's not the policies of a Conservative-led minority government, but the country's long history of conservative banking regulations.

Federal mortgage policy changes to hit March 18.

Poison or Nourishment?

Why quantitative easing demands that home builders hedge their risk.

Fearing continued economic stagnation and high unemployment, the Federal Reserve recently announced a policy of “quantitative easing” as a panacea for these ills. Quantitative easing is what non-economists call “turning on the printing press.” It describes an extreme form of monetary policy used to stimulate an economy when the interbank interest rate, which in the United States is called the federal funds rate, is either at or close to zero.

However, there is broad diversity of opinion about whether using $600 billion to purchase bonds will work, even among the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.

The Canadian housing market rode a recovery roller coaster in 2010, but experts seem to be unanimously predicting a lackluster 2011.

Green Delights

Eco-friendly building does more than save energy, it wows home buyers in unexpected ways.

One of the best parts of working with so many North American home builders is the front row seat I have to cutting-edge trends in construction and customer delight. Few builders, however, have shown as much innovative thinking as Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), which recently became the first builder to offer affordable houses that use 70–80 percent less energy than traditionally built homes. If you harbor any doubts about the fiscal wisdom of investing in “green” construction, consider this:

Just-released study from NAHB economists — and some recent headlines — point to a big housing recovery. The question is, when (and where) will we see it?