Zelman Insights

A Sign of Discretionary Home Improvement Projects Gaining Steam

August 25, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Over the last four years, our national home improvement proxy index has increased 6.0% annually, holding in a relatively tight range of 5.8-6.2%. To frame how dramatically the market has shifted from the depths of the recession, our index was ...

Filed Under
home improvement survey

Second Kid Typically the Final Straw Before Heading to Suburbs

August 25, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

We recently detailed that “good” births, or births to women at least 25 years of age, were up 1.5% in 2016 based on preliminary estimates from the Center for Disease Control. While those estimates have been revised ...

Filed Under
demographics millennials

While Consumer Wage Growth Disappoints, Net Income Accelerates

August 25, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Almost a year ago in an analysis titled, “Entry-Level Wage Growth Not Great, but Continuing to Improve”, we offered a relatively optimistic outlook for entry-level incomes with the growth rate improving for two key indicators in 2016 compared ...

Filed Under
entry-level macro housing

Consumer Intentions Contradict “Bad Time to Buy” Sentiment: Which to Trust?

August 11, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Earlier this week, Fannie Mae released the results of its monthly consumer survey focused on housing-related consumer sentiment. According to the July feedback, “the net share of Americans who say it is a good time to buy a home fell 7 percentage ...

Filed Under
macro housing survey

Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey Does Not Tell Entire Story on AD&C Lending

August 11, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Last week, the Federal Reserve published its latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey with the goal to “provide qualitative and limited quantitative information on credit availability and demand.” As it relates to residential real estate capital ...

Filed Under
apartments construction lending homebuilding

Will This Halt the “Renter Nation” War Cries?

July 28, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Last week, Pew Research Center published a short analysis titled “More U.S. households are renting than at any point in 50 years”, which caught numerous media headlines and fed the rhetoric among those that believe the homeownership rate and ...

Filed Under
homeownership

Amazon Tackles Appliances – Impact to Home Depot and Lowe’s?

July 28, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Last week, Amazon announced an agreement with Sears to begin selling the Kenmore brand of appliances through its website, starting with air conditioners and expanding to a full-line of home appliances at a later date. ...

Filed Under
home improvement

A Unique Look at How Single-Family Rental Tenants Differ from Owner Peers

July 14, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

As we have reported previously, there are approximately 16 million single-family rental homes across the country, accounting for almost 35% of all rental properties and clearly standing as a critical component of the housing supply chain. Looking ...

Filed Under
demographics homeownership single-family rental

With Inflation the Topic Du Jour, Housing Will Play a Key Factor Moving Forward

July 14, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

In her testimony to the House Financial Services Committee earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted that “the [Federal Open Market Committee] will be monitoring inflation developments closely in the months ahead.” The cautionary ...

Filed Under
macro housing

3% GDP Growth Elusive for Forever-Optimistic Economists

July 14, 2017 by Zelman & Associates

Having the responsibility of consistently predicting the future in a public forum is not for the faint of heart. Thus, we do not envy economists that are forced to opine on such far-reaching themes as energy, international trade, the consumer ...

Filed Under
macro housing