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Third Quarter 2011 Housing Market Conditions

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January 10, 2012 

Third Quarter 2011 Housing Market Conditions

A picture of Gulf Coase Phase II report cover page. HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research has released the third quarter of 2011 U.S. Housing Market Conditions report containing updates of production, marketing, and multifamily sector performance, as well as housing affordability, homeownership, and foreclosures. In addition to third quarter 2011 data, the report includes comparisons with the previous quarter and the third quarter of 2010, profiles of economic and housing market activity in each of HUD’s 10 regions, and updates of historical trends in national and regional housing markets. This report’s feature article is titled “PD&R Works Behind the Scenes in Response to Disasters.”

 

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Click here to view a webcast of the most recent Quarterly Housing Market and Research Update, which includes coverage of USHMC Q3.
Key Findings

  • Permits for new housing construction rose 1% above the previous quarter and were 6% higher than they were a year earlier. Single-family construction permits were up 3 percent from the previous quarter and 1 percent from the previous year. Multifamily permits were down 2% from the last quarter and up 21% from a year ago.


  • New construction began on 615,000 units, up 7% from the previous quarter and 5% from a year earlier. Single-family housing starts were down slightly from the previous quarter, as well as down 2% from 12 months earlier. Multifamily starts were 33% higher than the previous quarter and up 34% from a year earlier.


  • New housing unit completions increased by 15% from the previous quarter and 5% from a year earlier. Single-family home completions increased by 6% from the previous quarter and were down 3% from a year earlier. Multifamily completions were up 61% from the previous quarter and 41% from a year earlier.


  • Manufactured housing shipments were up 6% from the last quarter and up 3% from a year ago.


  • New single-family home sales were down 2% from the last quarter but up 4% from a year earlier. Existing home sales fell slightly from the previous quarter, but are up by 17% from 12 months earlier.


  • Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) represented 30% of all home sales, down from 33% in the first quarter and from 34% a year ago.


  • First-time homebuyers accounted for 32% of all home sales, down from 34% in the first quarter.


  • Home affordability was up 4 percentage points from the previous quarter and up 12.1 points from a year earlier. The increase is attributed to a 1% decrease in the median sales price of existing single-family homes and a 22 basis-point decline in mortgage interest rates.


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