According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales declined 4.9% over the month in January to a nine-month low of 4.82 million seasonally adjusted annualized units. While the rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to a 20-month low of 3.71%, limited inventory has put upward pressure on home prices.These rising prices, which have outpaced inflation, appear to have tempered sales. While home sales improved 3.2% from January 2014, last year’s sales were hindered by a deep freeze that caused home buying to stall, according to NAR.Sales of previously owned single-family homes declined 5.1% over the month to
Construction spending rose modestly in January from year-earlier levels despite retreating from a six-year high in December, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Construction continues to expand overall but with a lot of variability by month and segment,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The generally positive trends are obscured by an unreliable estimate for residential improvements which purportedly shows a huge downturn that is inconsistent with other data.”Construction spending in January totaled $971 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 1.1% lower than in December but 1.8% higher than in January 2014,
The wicked winter weather seen across most of the U.S. in February apparently did little to dampen hiring since U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 295,000 jobs over the month. Labor market gains were fairly broad based with increases in food services, professional and business services, construction, health care, and transportation, according to Dodge Data and Analytics (DDA), formerly called McGraw Hill Construction. There were no revisions to December’s gain of 329,000 workers, although January’s increase of 257,000 was lowered to 239,000.The underlying trend in the labor market is decidedly positive. Over the last year, monthly job gains averaged 266,000—exceeding the
The Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the fourth quarter of 2014 declined by 0.1 months, or 1%. Despite the quarter-over-quarter decline, the backlog ended the year at 8.7 months, which is still 4.4% higher than one year ago. “Inconsistent growth in the volume of public work continues to suppress the pace of nonresidential construction; however, private construction momentum continues to build,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “With hotel occupancy rising, office vacancy falling and demand for data climbing exponentially, a number of key private segments are positioned for rapid growth in construction spending this year.“There are
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in January, declined in February. The index now stands at 96.4 (1985=100), down from 103.8 in January. The Present Situation Index decreased to 110.2 from 113.9, while the Expectations Index declined to 87.2 from 97.0 in January. Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions was moderately less favorable in February than in January. Those saying business conditions are “good” decreased from 28.2% to 26.0%, however those claiming business conditions are “bad” decreased from 17.3% to 17.0%.Consumers were also somewhat less positive in their assessment of the job market, with the proportion stating jobs
The value of new construction starts climbed 9% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $621.0 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The increase for total construction was the result of an especially strong performance by the nonbuilding construction sector, which benefitted from the start of a massive liquefied natural gas terminal facility in Texas. Meanwhile, nonresidential building lost momentum for the second month in a row and residential building pulled back due to a slower pace for multifamily housing. On an unadjusted basis, total construction starts in January were reported at $43.2 billion, up 18% from
Following a nine-month stretch of positive billings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed no increase in design activity in January. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.The American Institute of Architects reported the January ABI score was 49.9, down from a mark of 52.7 in December. This score reflects a very modest decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 58.7, down from the reading of 59.1 the previous month.“This easing in
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation’s Transportation Commission decided on Feb. 19 to move forward with a design-build finance operate maintain (DBFOM) method for the finance and delivery of the I-70 East project from I-25 to Denver International Airport. “CDOT will be able to deliver this project beyond what it could do with its limited funds by partnering with the private sector for the construction, operation and maintenance responsibilities,” said Transportation Commissioner Chairman Ed Peterson.“The commission’s decision was based on being the best stewards of public money and trust; however it is important to note that this is just one step
Construction input prices dipped 2% in January and have now failed to rise for six consecutive months, according to the Feb. 18 producer price index (PPI) release from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. On a year-over-year basis, construction input prices are down 3.6%. In addition, nonresidential construction input prices fell 2.1% on a monthly basis and 4.6% on a yearly basis. “The decline in oil and petroleum prices finally showed up in the PPI data,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, crude petroleum prices fell 30.6% for the month and
Doing major, invasive construction surgery without compromising sensitive treatment activities in a high-intensity, critical care hospital takes extreme planning and an immersive level of quality control, but so far, about halfway through a five-phase project in Englewood, Colo., the owners representative says the contractor "has made it work." Related Links: First Phase of Craig Hospital Expansion Goes Vertical Broadmoor West Reopens After Extensive Renovation Since 1956, more than 30,000 people with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries have been served by the patient-centered treatment and research of Craig Hospital in suburban Denver. Ranked by U.S. News and World Report as
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