Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A Change is Gonna Come: Housing Demand

A new piece in the New York Times points to a new trend in increased demand for housing and shrinking inventories. Here is a link to the piece. Below is a sidebar to the piece with some graphics. The vibe on the streets, here in St. Louis, seems encouraging, but not yet overwhelming.

More than six years after the housing bubble burst, the industry is beginning to recover. With the available supply of homes down to levels not seen since 1999, prices have begun to rise and home builders are responding by planning to construct more homes than at any time in the last eight years. The trend is particularly pronounced in places like Sacramento, which was hit especially hard during the downturn. Related Article »
JAN. 1.74 million
Year-over-
year change
Year-over-year change
Year-over-year change
%
+200
+150
+100
+ 50
0
– 50
–100
HOUSING PERMITS
HOME VALUES
HOUSING INVENTORY
Sacramento
Sacramento
%
+30
+20
+10
0
–10
–20
–30
Sacramento
National, monthly
National
National
National
%
+40
+20
0
–20
–40
–60
–80
’12
’11
’10
’12
’10
’08
’06
’12
’10
’08
’06
’04
’02
’00
’12
’10
’08
’06
’04
’02
’00
million
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0