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Tag Archives: Real Estate Investment

Beige Book Again Sees Modest to Moderate Growth

Citing improvements in manufacturing, tourism, commercial and residential real estate and in the financial sector, the Federal Reserve Wednesday said the nation's economy ""continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace"" from late May through early July. The assessment in the periodic Beige Book was tempered by ""mixed"" conditions in the agricultural sector and the absence of improvement in labor markets. ""Hiring,"" the Beige Book said, ""held steady or increased at a measured pace.""

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What Soaring Confidence? Builders Cut Back in June

Despite soaring builder confidence, new housing permits and starts fell in June, with new construction falling to the lowest level in 10 months, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new housing permits tumbled 7.5 percent--the largest month-over-month decline since January 2011--while starts fell 9.9 percent, the second-largest drop since February 2011. Builders completed homes at an annual adjusted pace of 755,000 in June, 6.3 percent more than May's 710,000.

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Builder Confidence Surges Again in July

After surging in June, the Housing Market Index, a measure of builder confidence, shot up again in July, climbing six points to 57, its highest reading since January 2006, the National Association of Home Builders reported Tuesday. The two month 13-point gain was the strongest two-month increase since January-February 1992 when the index improved 14 points.

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Q1 GDP Growth Trimmed

The nation’s economy grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, far slower than previous report for the three months ended March 31, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. Previous reports on the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), based on incomplete data, had estimated growth at 2.4 percent, and economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the most recent report would confirm that growth rate.

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Single-Family Starts Flat Despite Confidence Surge

One day after the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the sharpest boost in builder confidence in seven years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported single-family starts were essentially flat in May, increasing just 0.3 percent. The Census/HUD report Tuesday showed total starts improved 6.8 percent in May, while total permits fell 3.1 percent.

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First Quarter GDP Growth Dips; Corporate Profits Fall

The nation's economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.4 percent in the first quarter, slightly slower than originally reported, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. At the same time, corporate profits in the first quarter were $1.97 trillion, down almost $44 billion from the fourth quarter. The last time corporate profits showed a quarter-over-quarter decline was in the first quarter of 2012. Corporate profits are considered a key indicator of employment trends. Residential fixed investment was essentially unchanged from the initial report at $397.3 billion.

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Institutional Investor Activity in California

As institutional investor activity continues in California, PropertyRadar decided to take a look at who these investors are and their purchase patterns. To rule out smaller and individual investors, PropertyRadar tracked transfers in qualities greater than 10 from an LLC or LP. The firm reported LLC and LP purchases represented only 5.1 percent of transfer activity in 2012 and 4.5 percent in 2013. However, upon closer examination, PropertyRadar found institutional investor activity was mainly concentrated in certain counties.

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Q1 GDP Shows Sharp Gain Over Previous Quarter

The nation's economy rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, slightly slower than economists had expected but more than six times the growth rate in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at a 3.1 percent pace. Residential fixed investment added $11.8 billion to GDP, down from the $15.3 billion contribution in the fourth quarter, and spending on non-residential structures actually subtracted from GDP, albeit a scant $200 million.

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Builder Confidence Sinks to 5-Month Low Despite Tighter Inventory

Builder confidence slipped in March to 44, the lowest level since October, the National Association of Home Builders Monday. Economists had expected the Housing Market Index, the measure of confidence, to improve to 47 from February's reading of 46. It was the second straight monthly decline in the index and the third straight month the index failed to increase (it was flat from December to January). Tighter inventories had been expected to improve confidence, but builder attitudes have also been weighed down by prices of new single-family homes.

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Revised GDP Barely Positive, Reversing Initial Drop

Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. The nation's economy increased at a 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted annualized rate. Last month, in the advance GDP release, BEA had reported the nation's economy contracted by 0.1 percent, the first ""negative growth"" since the end of the Great Recession in mid-2009. Economists had expected the turnaround, but to a stronger 0.5 percent growth rate.

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