Zelman Insights
Exclusive insights and analyses from our industry-leading research team
Ten-Year Declining Homeownership Rate Streak Finally Broken in 1Q17
May 05, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
According to the most-frequently cited measure of homeownership produced quarterly by the Census Bureau, the decade long slide in the national homeownership rate just ended. For 1Q17, 63.6% of households were owners versus renters, up 10 basis ...
Filed Under
homeownership
Single-Family Rent Growth Has Overtaken Apartments After Historically Lagging
May 05, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
In 2016, we estimate that there were roughly 44 million single-family and multi-family rental homes across the country, accounting for approximately 35% of total households. To track the professionally-managed portion of each market, Zelman ...
Filed Under
apartmentssingle-family rentalsurvey
Lumber Inflation Surrounding Canadian Tariff Just Another Pressure on Builder Costs
May 05, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
In late April, the Department of Commerce announced countervailing duties, or a tariff, on imported softwood lumber from Canada, ranging from 3-24% for the largest producers and 20% for all other mills. The tariffs were largely expected by ...
Filed Under
home pricinghomebuilding
Are We in the Midst of a Wedding and Baby Boom and Don’t Realize It?
April 21, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Earlier this week, the Census Bureau published a report titled “The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975-2016”, which analyzed changes in how young adults have been educated, started families and lived over the last ...
Filed Under
demographicshousehold formation
Urban Sprawl Picking Up Steam Even Beyond Starter Homes
April 21, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Beginning in 1Q15, we began tracking new home for-sale inventory across more than 20 production homebuilders, including the square footage offered as a way to better gauge investments and the willingness to cater to the under-served ...
Filed Under
entry-levelhomebuilding
Unique Beige Book Index a Better Read on Economy than GDP?
April 21, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
In 2016, real GDP increased 1.6%, tying 2011 as the weakest growth of the last six years. At the same time, the S&P 500 equity index was up a strong 10%, the annual unemployment rate was the lowest level since 2007 and consumer confidence was ...
Filed Under
macro housing
Amidst a Lost Decade for Housing, What Does Future Hold?
April 07, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Every quarter, we publish in-depth macro housing forecasts and explanations covering single-family construction, multi-family construction, the existing housing market, home improvements and mortgage finance. With the release ...
New York Federal Reserve Study Hits Interesting Points on Student Debt
April 07, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Earlier this week, the New York Federal Reserve published a presentation on household debt with a focus on student loans. According to the analysis, there was $1.31 trillion of outstanding student debt at the end of 2016, up 50% over the last ...
Filed Under
homeownershipstudent debt
Urban-Focused Multi-Family Construction Creating Longer Tail Risk of Supply
April 07, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Unlike in the single-family market where permits and starts are largely reflective of current demand, on the multi-family side, permits and starts are influenced by current demand but they are still speculative in nature given that the product ...
Filed Under
apartmentshousing starts
Homebuilder M&A Gaining Steam with Foreign Companies Joining the Fray
March 10, 2017 by Zelman & Associates
Over the last year, several Asian companies have gone on a buying spree of private U.S. homebuilders, including leading Japanese builder Sekisui House’s recent purchase of Woodside Homes. The Woodside deal, valued at $468 million or roughly ...
Filed Under
homebuilding
affordabilityapartmentsbaby boomersbuild-for-rentconstruction lendingdemographicsentry-levelexisting home saleshome improvementhome pricinghomebuildinghomeownershiphousehold formationhousinghousing startsinstitutional investorsinterest ratesmacro housingmillennialsmortgagemortgage ratesnew home salesreal estate servicesrefinancesg&asingle-family rentalstocksstudent debtsupplysurvey