This is a great newsletter produced by the National Association of Home Builders. It is published weekly and discusses economic news of the housing industry.
Here are a few excerpts from the recent newsletter:
The Economic Free Fall Is Losing Momentum
The rate of decline in real GDP should slow considerably in the second quarter – we’re estimating -2.0% – as the cutback in business inventories abates and the drag from housing lightens a bit.
We expect real GDP to stabilize around mid-year and to post modest (below-trend) growth in the second half of this year.
The GDP recovery should gather momentum during 2010, with above-trend growth emerging by the second quarter. If this pattern materializes, a significant run of self-sustaining above-trend growth will be in store for 2011 and beyond.
The Recovery in Housing Production Is Coming into View
The recent data on home buyer demand described above have bolstered our view that new-home sales bottomed out in the first quarter 2009. Our short-term sales forecast depicts a gradual recovery process that begins in the second quarter and gathers momentum through 2010.
Data on housing starts and building permits through March have bolstered our view that total and single-family housing starts will bottom out in the second quarter of this year, although the multifamily sector is not likely to stabilize until the end of the year.
We expect both single-family and multifamily starts to gain ground during 2010, although constraints on housing production credit will undoubtedly limit the gains – particularly in the multifamily sector.
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