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Just released: U.S. Housing Market Conditions, 4th Quarter 2005

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HUD has released the final quarterly report of "U.S.
Housing Market Conditions" for 2005, which contains an
analysis of both the fourth quarter and the entire year.

Looking at the Last Quarter of '05...

The housing sector had a very strong fourth quarter,
which followed an especially robust third quarter.
Single-family starts and completions achieved the third
highest levels ever reported, and single-family permits
were at the second highest quarterly value ever reported.
The fourth quarter homeownership rate increased. New home
sales and existing home sales were, respectively, at the
third and fourth highest levels ever reported. The
multifamily sector was somewhat mixed: starts and permits
decreased, completions increased, the vacancy rate
decreased, and the absorption rate increased.

...And Last Year as a Whole...

2005 was a record-setting year for housing. New annual
production records were set for single-family permits,
starts, and completions. The mortgage interest rate was
nearly equal to the all-time low set in 2003. New home
sales and existing home sales each set new annual records
for the fifth consecutive year. Annual totals for overall
(single-family plus multifamily) permits, starts, and
completions were at near-record levels and have not been
this high since the 1970s. Total permits and starts in
2005 were the second highest ever. Completions were the
third highest ever.

The strength of the housing market contributed to the
overall growth of the U.S. economy in 2005. Real gross
domestic product grew by 3.5 percent, and residential
fixed investment (housing) grew by 7.2 percent,
contributing 0.42 percentage point to the overall growth
rate.

This issue of "U.S. Housing Market Conditions" also
contains regional data, historical trends, and a feature
article titled, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Enhanced
Public Data and Recent Housing Goal Performance of the
'Residential Finance Survey: 2001.'" In-depth housing
market profiles are given for Atlanta, GA; Bloomington,
IN; Chicago, IL; Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR;
Fredericksburg, VA; Hartford, CT; Jersey City, NJ;
Killeen-Temple, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Medford-Ashland, OR;
Ponce, PR; and Reno, NV.

The report is available online at
https://www.huduser.gov/periodicals/ushmc/ushmc_05Q4.html
and from the HUD USER Clearinghouse by calling 800-245-
2691.

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