DAYTON MARKET UPDATE:More homes are coming. 185 permits were issued in November-20, which brought the Yearly total to 2,234, the highest level since 2006. NAHB homebuilder sentiment, though slipping a bit in January, still came in at a very high 81 reading for the Midwest, which includes the Dayton region.
NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE: Existing Home Sales rose to a 6.760 million annual rate in December. Sales in 2020 were the strongest since 2006, up 6.5% from 2019. High demand took 70% of sold homes off the market in less a month.
Inventories are shrinking, so it was heartening to see Housing Starts rocket up in December to a 1.669 million annual rate. Home building hit its fastest pace since 2006, and single-family starts are now up 29.4% from their February high.
ECONOMIC DATA: NEW HOME SALES UP, PENDING HOME SALES OFF, ECONOMY OK… The 2020 spike in home building should show up in higher New Homes Sales for December. However, declining inventories are expected to depress Pending Home Sales contracts on existing homes. We'll get reports on GDP, Consumer Confidence, PCE inflation, Personal Income and Spending, and a Fed meet, but analysts forecast no surprises.