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Market Research
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.13.2008 |
 I’m off to the International Builder Show today and I will soon see how much the downturn has impacted attendance at the annual industry confab hosted by the National Association of Home Builders. Look for updates from me later in the week.
If you need to track the performance of builders and other housing-related companies, pay a visit to our new Housing Companies section of the site. We reworked our licensed data from Hoover’s into industry categories so you can see the major players. In the new format you cane at a glance review sales, sales growth, employee count and employee growth. | | No comments for this item |
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Economics
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.12.2008 |
 I’m curbing my enthusiasm for the stimulus plan providing much of a boost for housing. As politicians love to do, instead of simply raising conforming loan limits to a higher level, they targeted the temporary new limits to “high cost areas.”
Translation—the bill that the house and senate have passed and will soon be signed by President Bush will raise conforming loan limits in only 31 markets. This conclusion is based on our calculations and interpretation of the bill. | | No comments for this item |
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Economics
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.08.2008 |
 Add Business Week to the chorus of big media outlets adding to the psyche of U.S. consumers that housing prices must fall by double digits. The cover of this week’s magazine informed us all that “the worst is yet to come.”
To be fair, Peter Coy did acknowledge that “prices won’t fall uniformly.” But the hypothesis presented is that housing is so bad in many markets that it will likely drag the U.S. economy into a severe recession, which will eventually bring down every market. | | No comments for this item |
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Market Research
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.06.2008 |
After yesterday’s post where I described the need to understand both the market and segments of demand, I thought it would be useful to write about what really constitutes a single housing market, i.e., where buyers make decisions about their homes. I would argue that the real action takes place in what we refer to as a submarket—a geographic location with relatively similar housing choices and prices. Such a submarket is usually small. It’s smaller than a zip code or a county. | | No comments for this item |
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Economics
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.05.2008 |
 The posts last week regarding home sales and optimism about a better 2008, at least for healthy, non-bubble markets, received several comments. In the January 25 post, I presented the idea that we should really look at housing markets across three distinct groups: former bubble markets, healthy non-bubble markets, and economically ailing markets. | | This item includes 2 comments |
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Market Research
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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02.01.2008 |
I am proud to announce the launch of www.RatingInsights.com, a sibling website to HousingIntelligence. After one of our reports or blog posts whets your appetite for the housing industry, you can jump over to RatingInsights for related intelligence with a focus on the opinions and preferences of new home shoppers and buyers. In addition to its reports, RatingInsights offers innovative analytical tools that enable home builders and suppliers to understand their consumers. Both our reports and tools can help builders and suppliers improve their performance and the appeal of their communities and homes. | | No comments for this item |
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Economics
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Written by Jonathan Smoke
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01.29.2008 |
The S&P/Case-Shiller price indices for November were released today. More of the same. Home prices in the main 10-market composite were down 8.4% from a year earlier. The 20-market composite recorded a 7.7% year-over-year decline. Let me be the first to tell you to expect more of the same next month when December is reported. | | No comments for this item |
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