Southern States See New Home Sales Rise

/in

Increase in sales contributed to the 6.7% increase in new home sales in May 2018 reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 689,000. In the south region, U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report that sales rose the highest in the South at 17.9%.

While the sales rose in the South, they dropped in other parts of the country. In the Northeast new homes sale dropped by 10% the month of May 2018 and 8.7% in the West. Overall, sales nationwide are 8.8% ahead of the reports from this time last year.

New home sales and new home inventory are both recovering at a close and steady pace.  Reports show that the sales of new homes are keeping up with the reported post-recession high of 712,000 in November 2017.

The three sub-indexes (single-family sales in the present, single-family sales over the next 6 months, and traffic of prospective buyers) are reported at or above 50 according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This factor has contributed to the positive outlook builders’ now have on the residential construction industry.

New home sales can give credit to the job growth and expanding housing equity, as well as the millennials entering the home-buying market.

Click Here For Source Information.

Home Equity on the Rise

/in

In data published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System the first quarter of 2018 saw a high in the value of owner’s equity in real estate.  The Financial Accounts of the United States concluded that real estate equity hit a new high on nominal and not seasonally adjusted basis.

Households’ owner-occupied real estate rose to $25.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which was $544 billion more than the first quarter in 2017.

The value of owner’s equity in real estate is defined as the difference between the value of owner-occupied real estate and home mortgage debt. The value of owners’ equity rose to $15 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which is a $1.4 trillion gain over the past four quarters and a 59.7% increase in value.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis the total home mortgage debt increased to $10.1 trillion which was more than $280 billion than the same period in 2017. Home mortgages are the largest share of total household loans.

The first quarter National Delinquency Report (NDS) reports that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans had decreased for loans. In the first quarter of 2018 the percentage of loans that were 90 or more days past due dropped to 1.47%.

The economy’s recovery from the Great Recession has helped homeowner’s loan-to-value ratio which has fallen as the home value grows faster than the debt.

Click Here For Source Information.

High Housing Starts In May 2018

/in

According to the NAHB both the single-family and multifamily sectors saw an increase in total housing starts in the month of May 2018. In the Census Bureau and HUD report, data shows that housing starts increased 5% month-over month to a 1.35 million seasonally adjusted annual rate.

Single-family starts hit 3.9% in May 2018 with a 936,000-annual rate.  NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reports a healthy score of 68 for single-family starts growth trends.

Reports show on a year-to-date basis that single-family starts are up 9.8% in the first five months of 2018 in regards to the data released in May of 2017. Multifamily starts were up 11% in May with a 404,000-annual rate, making multifamily construction the highest thus far in the year 2018. As for a comparison to 2017, multifamily is up more than 13% this May 2018.

Out of the housing starts reported in May 2018, 54% were multifamily making the total 612,000 while single-family report 515,000 under construction.

Click Here For Source Information.

Construction Industry Annual Salary More Than the US Median Wage

/in

The median wage in the U.S. is below $37,000.00 a year.  The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reports that half of the construction workers in the country make more than $45,820.

The construction trade’s tops income producers are elevator installers.  According to the OES half earn over $79,000 a year with the top 25% pulling in $98,890.  The second top paying jobs are rotary drill operators making close to $70,000 and third highest paid are the boilermakers making over $65,380.

Most of the top paying crafts in construction require formal education, specialized training or licensing. Building inspectors (median wages $58,300), electricians and plumbers (both earning over $52,000) make up these craftsmen. Carpenters require less formal education and make up most of the jobs in the industry. As mentioned earlier, the median wage earned was over $45,370 with the highest paid 25% making $60,470 per year.

Within the construction industry OES publishes wages for approximately 380 occupations in construction that include not only the construction trade but workers in finance, sales, administration, and other off-site activities. The highest paid occupation is the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) who pull in an average of over $167,000 a year, after that the Petroleum engineers make a median wage of $159,330, lawyers at $134,010, flight engineers come in with $127,130, and architectural and engineering managers earn an average of over $124,030.

 

Click Here For Source Information.

David L. Waltemath to Be Honored by City Business in New Orleans

/in , ,

Honorees Chosen for 2018 ‘Excellence in Construction and Real Estate’ Class

David L. Waltemath has been nominated by City Business in New Orleans as an Honoree for the Excellence in Construction and Real Estate class of 2018. He and his companies Classic Properties and Waltemath Interests will be profiled and honored by City Business for the Development category.

A special Excellence in Construction and Real Estate insert profiling all honorees will run in the September 28 issue of CityBusiness, and an event will be held to celebrate this year’s winners on September 10 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Museum of Art. For ticket information contact Marilyn Miller at 504-293-9201 or mmiller@nopg.com. Reservations can be made online here. For more information contact Web Editor/Event Coordinator Meghan Keen at 504-293-9253 or mkeen@nopg.com.

 

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Property Taxes: A Steady Income for Local and State Revenue

/in

Property tax shares have been on the rise for the past five and a half years.  NAHB reports that the Census Bureau’s quarterly tax data concludes that $573 billion in property taxes were paid in the four quarters of 2017. While individual income tax receipts grew 5.4%, property tax revenues were the biggest increase at 6% as major income sources of state and local tax revenue.

State and local share of total receipts include property taxes at 40.4%, individual income taxes at 28.5%, sales taxes at 27.3% and corporate taxes at 3.8%.  Property taxes has remained steady above 40% for four consecutive quarters since 2012-2013.  Non-property tax receipts that include individual income, corporate income and sales tax revenues change often and have been sensitive to the market while property tax collections have been stable.

Property taxes stability stems from the long-term stable property values and the lagging time in assessments and annual adjustments. According to NAHB property taxes have increased the majority of the past ten quarters.  The ratio of property tax revenue to total tax revenue is stable at more than 3% points above its pre-housing boom average of 37%.

Click Here For Source Information.