Articles Tagged "inflation"

April 2022 Nationwide

27% Decrease in Sales from April 2021

12% Increase in New Listings over April 2021

We are in a Changing Market

First gas, then heating and now rents. Runaway inflation is driving rents skywards across America, delivering an average of a 20 percent increase in the U.S.'s biggest 50 cities over the past 12 months, a study details.  The rent spike has stung wallets nowhere more than in the Miami metro area, where the median rent surged to an eyewatering $2,850, 49.8 percent higher than the previous year.  Other cities across Florida — Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville — and the Sun Belt destinations of Texas and Tennessee, all saw spikes of more than 25 percent in some cities during that time period. Rising rents and high inflation are moving hand-in-hand to become one of the nation's top economic problems.  Economists worry about the impact of rent increases on inflation because the big jumps in new leases feed into the U.S. consumer price index, which is used to measure inflation.

• Breitbart, February 21, 2022

After a year of record-breaking construction, North Texas homebuilders are starting 2022 with a backlog of sales and not enough supply.  Dallas-Fort Worth builders sold almost 46,000 single-family homes in 2021.  Even though local builders started more homes than in any market in the country, they can't keep up with demand for new housing units in North Texas.  Don't look for the supply-demand imbalance to end this year, housing analysts warn.  "2021 turned out to be one of the most extraordinary years in D-FW housing history," said Ted Wilson, principal with Dallas-based housing analyst Residential Strategies. "Builders were enveloped by an unprecedented swell of housing demand that prompted the industry to rev up its production pace.  "Unfortunately, as builders rushed to sell houses to the wave of buyers, the resulting surge in starts was quickly met by the reality that there were limitations to the North Texas construction capacity."  A lack of labor, materials shortages and other constraints have driven up costs and stretched out average building timelines, Wilson said Thursday in his firm's quarterly market update.  Unlike in previous housing cycles, North Texas builders can't meet the appetite of consumers.  "There appears to be ample demand to sell houses at healthy margins but the reality is that no one is able to get houses constructed and completed as quickly as they would like," Wilson said.  North Texas housing demand is being driven by a combination of demographics and relocations to the state.  D-FW led the country in single family new home starts last year.

Phil Crone, executive director of the Dallas Builders Association, said most of the area's builders are focused on overcoming the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic-impacted industry.  And with the prospect of both higher mortgage rates and construction costs this year, affordability issues will continue to plague D-FW builders.    "We can't just have a market where only Californians can afford it."

• Dallas Morning News, February 11, 2022

Inflation Concerns Are Sweeping the Nation