Daily Archives: March 17, 2015

Housing starts see biggest collapse since January 2007 | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Leave a reply

Privately-owned housing starts in February plummeted 17%, down to an annualized 897,000 from the revised January estimate of 1,081,000, with drops in the Northeast, Midwest and West leading the collapse.

Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 593,000; this is 14.9% below the revised January figure of 697,000.

Multi-family starts are the lowest since June 2014.

“Housing clearly remains under pressure. Increased volatility month to month has left permits and starts little changed from levels reached 12-24 months ago,” said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist for Sterne Agee. “With consumers struggling amid minimal wage growth, housing is unlikely to be a sizable contribution to headline growth in the near term.

“Nevertheless, the disappointment in this morning’s report only further exacerbates the downward trend in the economic data as of late. Needless to say, the Fed has plenty to discuss at this week’s policy meeting,” she said.

The collapse was dominated by the Northeast which saw a -56.5% drop and in the Midwest, which collapsed -37%.

“There’s no question that the harsh winter we had in the Midwest and Northeast was the culprit in February’s slowdown in new home construction,” said Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield. “I wouldn’t look too much into February’s drop, as the overall housing picture shows homebuilder confidence growing and permits for new construction rising. Look for demand to increase in the coming months.”

The West region, where weather wasn’t a problem, saw starts drop 18.2%.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,092,000. This is 3% above the revised January rate of 1,060,000 and is 7.7% above the February 2014 estimate of 1,014,000.

Single-family authorizations in February were at a rate of 620,000; this is 6.2% below the revised January figure of 661,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 445,000 in February.

“The big drop in February housing starts was largely due to the severe weather up North.  The effects were most severe in the Northeast:  Starts fell 56% and completions dropped 29%, the largest declines of any region.  There was brighter news around permits,” said Frank Nothaft, senior vice president and chief economist at CoreLogic. “Except for the snow-engulfed Northeast, permits were up in all other regions and for the U.S. as a whole, especially for multifamily, a good sign for spring construction.”

Privately-owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 850,000. This is 13.8% below the revised January estimate of 986,000 and is 1.8% below the February 2014 rate of 866,000.

 

read more…

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/33260-housing-starts-see-biggest-collapse-since-january-2007

 

Hidden Buildings | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply
Architects have made a virtue out of the need to hide buildings. London-based dRMMM stuck to stringent planning guidelines for rural development, creating an award-winning design in the process. Their Sliding House in Suffolk replaced a bungalow and some outbuildings with a building based on a traditional timber-framed barn. Yet the structure is mobile: a 50-ton roof and wall enclosure glides along recessed tracks, revealing the house, annexe and garage. (Credit: Alex de Rijke/Ross Russell/DRMM)

 

read more…

 

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150316-buildings-hidden-from-the-world

Housing Production Stumbles | South Salem Real Estate

Leave a reply

Housing starts fell 17% to their lowest level since January 2014. The decline was across the board in building types and regions. Single-family starts were down 14.9% and multifamily starts were down 20.8%. Single-family starts were down the most in the weather sensitive Northeast (-60.7%) and Midwest (-32.4%) but were also down in the less unseasonable weather patterns of the South (-5.9%) and West (-9.1%).

While total building permits were up 3%, single-family permits were down 6.2% with only the West recording a rise in single-family permits (+5.6%). Multifamily permits were up 18.3% to the highest level since April 2014 and only the third time above 470 since 2006.

Aside from a small weather impact in the Northeast and Midwest, the decline is in line with a hesitation in builder sentiment as measured by the NAHB/Wells Fargo March Housing Market Index that fell 2 points to 53. Builders express concern that buyers are unable to attain a mortgage because of tight underwriting standards and that buyers continue to expect price concessions and discounts.

Coincident with buyers discount expectations, builders are facing higher costs and reduced availability of lots on which to build the homes and workers to construct them. The squeeze is causing builders to slow construction until new home prices rise, consumers regain confidence and the supply chain for lots, labor and to a lesser extent building materials rebuilds.

The underlying conditions for a good, not great, housing rebound remain in place. The economy is adding jobs at a much faster pace than earlier in the recovery, overall growth is more dependably positive, mortgage rates are historically low and there is considerable pent-up demand waiting to be released. Consumers need to regain their confidence in those trends and to readjust their expectations for home prices. The softness in the fourth quarter GDP estimates and the very slow rise in worker pay and household incomes contributed to the current hesitation.

Actual Housing Starts and Trends

 

read more…

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/housing-production-stumbles/

North American Passive Building Standard Introduced | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

To adapt the European Passive House standard to North American markets, PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) will launch the new PHIUS+ 2015 passive building standard on March 25 at Seattle’s Bullitt Center.

The event, cosponsored by PHIUS/PHAUS, the passive building research institute and alliance, and Sam Hagerman, past president of PHAUS and owner of passive builder Hammer & Hand, marks implementation of the new energy performance targets in the PHIUS+ project certification program. PHIUS+ is the leading passive building certification program in North America.

“For years we have worked to increase awareness and market penetration of the passive building concept in North America,” said Hagerman. “The new PHIUS+ 2015 standard is a giant leap in this process.”

Executive Director Katrin Klingenberg will will give a brief overview of the impetus for the new standard, as well as a capsule summary of what’s new and what’s better.

Klingenberg said that “PHIUS+ 2015 gives designers and builders a powerful new tool: A building energy performance target that’s in the “sweet spot” where cost effectiveness overlaps with aggressive energy and carbon reduction. As such, it promises to ignite tremendous growth in the application of passive building principles.”

Formally known as PHIUS+ 2015 Passive Building Standard: North America, the standard is the product of nearly three years of research conducted by the PHIUS Technical Committee in partnership with Building Science Corporation under a U.S. Department of Energy Building America grant. The effort employed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s BEopt tool (a cost-optimizing software tool) to develop optimized design guidelines for use in North America’s wide-ranging climate zones.

Passive building has gained great attention in recent years because of its potential for reducing carbon levels and mitigating climate change, for comfort and resiliency, and for saving energy costs in general. But the adoption of passive principles—superinsulation, airtight envelope, energy recovery ventilation, e.g—has been slower than hoped because of cost and other disincentives.

The new formula and standards remove those obstacles. In addition, passive building is increasingly being adopted as a platform for achieving Net Zero or Net Positive buildings—by reducing building energy requirements from the start, it brings those targets well within reach. The U.S. DOE recognized the synergy between Net Zero and passive building by partnering with PHIUS from 2012 onward. Buildings that earn PHIUS+ certification also earn the U.S. DOE’s Zero Energy Home Ready label. Since the partnership, PHIUS+ certifications have increased exponentially, and the new standard promises to not only sustain but also dramatically increase that growth.

 

 

read more…

 

http://www.proudgreenhome.com/news/phius-to-launch-north-american-passive-building-standard/

WaterNest Floating Home | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

WaterNest 100 eco-friendly floating home

Meet the WaterNest 100 floating home. Designed by architect Giancarlo Zema and developed by EcoFloLife after years of research, the WaterNest is intended for use on any calm body of water and is built from materials that are 98% recyclable.

The 1000-square-foot floating pod-shaped home measures 40 feet in diameter and 14 feet tall. Its curved body is constructed from recycled glued laminated timber atop a recycled aluminum hull. It is self=powered by a roof mounted, 600 square foot solar display that generates 4 kW of electricity. The solar panels are framed by generously sized skylights on either side. Large windows and balconies wrap around the unit to give users to unobstructed views of the water. The glazing also lets in plenty of sunshine to light the interior. If you want to use solar power for your home, you have options, taking advantage of clean energy doesn’t need be complicated. As a full-service electrical contractor and solar energy specialist, Artisan makes the entire process seamless and easy for you, for more about Artisan Electric. You may be able to buy or lease a system or sign a power purchase agreement. Your choice can affect how much you spend up front and over the life of the system, whether you get certain tax breaks or not, and your responsibilities when you sell your home. Evaluate the company, product, costs and your obligations before you make a commitment.

WaterNest 2The developers created a “sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning” to classify the building as a “low-consumption residential habitat.” The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn’t intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecological pod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.

On its website, EcoFloLife describes its mission as follows:

The world around us is becoming increasingly chaotic and conformist, requiring fully eco-friendly and recyclable housing units which allow us to live in complete independence and in harmony with nature while respecting and admiring it.

The ongoing climate changes and the resulting sea- and river-level rises force us to ponder on the eco-sustainability of our housing choices. EcoFloLife is committed on the topic of environmental sustainability with its floating and eco-friendly residential units.

The WaterNest 100 seems to embody that philosophy perfectly and is a truly inspired representation of what an environmentally friendly home of the future could look like.

read more…

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/03/16/

Feb. housing starts plunge 17% | Bedford Hills Real Estate

Leave a reply

Builders broke ground on fewer new homes last month as starts plunged 17% from January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Amid of harsh winter weather, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home construction fell to 897,000 from 1.08 million the month before, the government said. February was the first month since August when home building fell below an annual rate of 1 million units or better.

January’s rate was revised to 1.08 million from the previously reported figure of 1.06 million, the government said Tuesday.

Economists had expected a small decline in starts for February to an annual rate of 1.045 million units, according to Action Economics’ survey.

Snowstorms in parts of the country were presumed to have slowed construction. Commerce reported starts in the Northeast fell 56.5% and they were down 37% in the Midwest. The South was down 2.5% while starts in the Midwest slumped 9%.

Tuesday’s report shows single-family homes were started at an annual rate of 593,000, down 14.9% from January.

Permits, a gauge of future building activity, rose 3% to a rate of 1.09 million.

Just over 1 million housing units were started last year, the most since the recession. The National Association of Home Builders predicts builders will begin slightly more units this year and that new home starts will pick up this year as the weather and the economy continue to improve.

Home builders’ optimism is flagging slightly as the peak spring home buying season is nearing. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo home builders index for March dropped two points to 53, the NAHB said Monday. It was the third straight monthly decline. The index is seasonally adjusted.

 

read more…

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/17/feb-housing-starts/24890299/

Snow and Housing Starts | #Bedford Real Estate

Leave a reply

Construction on new homes in the United States slumped 17% in February, mostly because of heavy snowfall that sidelined builders in the Northeast and Midwest. But nationwide permits for future construction rose to the second highest level since the end of the Great Recession, suggesting construction will pick up in the spring.

So-called housing starts sank to an annual rate of 897,000 in February from a revised 1.08 million in January, the government said Tuesday. That was well below the estimate of analysts polled by MarketWatch, who predicted that starts would total a seasonally adjusted 1.03 million.

New construction in the Northeast tumbled 56% to mark the lowest rate since 2009, with the number of single-family houses being built slipping to a record low, the Commerce Department reported. Builders were frozen out in many major markets such as the Boston that was buried beneath a record nine feet of snow during the winter.

Starts also sank 37% in the frigid Midwest and 18.2% in the West, but just 2.5% in the South, where almost 50% of all new construction takes place.

At the same time, though, permits for new construction, a sign of future demand, rose 3% to an annual rate of 1.09 million. That’s the highest level since October and the second strongest increase since the end of the recession in mid-2009.

Permits rose in all major regions except for the Northeast, where they dropped 17.4%.

The biggest increase in applications for new construction once again involved multi-dwelling projects such as apartment buildings and townhouse rows. Permits for projects of five units or more jumped nearly 20%, reflecting a postrecession trend in which more people are renting instead of owning, especially younger people.

Permits for single-family homes, which make up three-quarters of the housing market, fell 6.2% compared to the prior month. They were up 2.8% from a year earlier, however.

 

read more…

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-slump-on-winter-weather-2015-03-17?link=MW_Nav_NV