Skip to main content

Third Quarter 2012 Housing Market Conditions

HUD.GOV HUDUser.gov
eList
PD&R UPDATES
HUDUSER Header logo

December 19, 2012  

Third Quarter 2012 Housing Market Conditions

HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research has released the U.S. Housing Market Conditions Report for the third quarter of 2012. The report provides updated information for the country on housing construction, marketing, affordability, homeownership, foreclosures, and multifamily housing performance. It contains statistics for the third quarter of 2012 with comparisons to the previous quarter, as well as the third quarter of 2011. Profiles of regional activity, selected housing markets, and updates of historical trends in national and regional markets are presented. The title of this issue’s feature article is “Housing in America: 2011 American Housing Survey Results.”


Key Findings

 
Whats New on HUDUSER Banner Image
  • Housing permits, starts, and completions all rose in both the single-family and multifamily sectors.
    • Single-family building permits were up 8% from the previous quarter and 23% from a year earlier; multifamily permits increased by 14% from the second quarter and 56% from one year earlier.
    • Single-family construction starts were up 7% from the second quarter and up 28% from a year earlier; multifamily starts were up 8% from the previous quarter and 24% higher than 12 months earlier.
    • Single-family completions rose by 3% from the second quarter and by 6% from the previous year; multifamily completions were up 26% from the previous quarter and 20% from 1 year ago.
       
  • In the marketing sector, sales rose for new and previously owned homes and home sale prices increased.
    • New single-family home sales rose 4% from the second quarter of 2012 and were 26% higher than one year ago; existing home sales were up 3% from the previous quarter, and up 10% from 12 months ago.
    • The median sales price for new homes was $242,900, up 2% from the second quarter and up 9% from a year ago; the median sales price for existing homes of $185,500 was up by 3% from the second quarter and 10% higher than 12 months earlier.
       
  • The national homeownership rate remained steady at 65.5%, but was down from 66.3% a year earlier. Minority homeownership, at 47.8%, fell from 47.9% in the previous quarter and 48.9% a year earlier.
     
  • Residential investment increased by 14.4%, up from 8.5% in the second quarter, and contributed 0.33% to GDP growth.


Learn More   


footer icons
HUDUSER Footer
PD&R Research PD&R Newsletters PD&R Data Sets Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Whats New on HUDUSER Participants List and Listening Session for the SC2 National Resource Network Sandy Damage Estimates Based on FEMA IA Registrant Inspection Data Cityscape: Volume 14 Number 3 — Residential Mobility: Implications for Families and Communities