Every two weeks, Oldcastle Building Solutions Business Intelligence prepares a report focused on understanding and analyzing construction market data and trends.
This in-depth report is developed primarily for internal distribution, but Oldcastle Building Solutions exists to inform construction professionals like you, so we're making this report available for anyone who's interested in reading it.
What's New In This Report?
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HighlightsOctober 2016 HMI fell 2 points to 63, still marking its 2nd highest score in 2016 September 2016 ABI dipped again to 48.4, but contracts and inquiries are still positive |
Construction UpdateSeptember 2016 housing permits made 8.5% gain in 12 months; Starts drop 11.9% NEw single family sales: 593k houses, 29.8% above the September 2015 estimates |
Economic UpdateAdvance (first) estimate of real GDP for Q3 2016 is 2.9%, well above Q2 1.4% September 2016 CPI-U (Inflation) rose 0.3%, gains in gasoline and shelter |
Key Takeaways
- The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) in September 2016 fell 2 points to 63, which amounted to the second highest index score in 2016 after August's score of 65; indicating that builders' confidence remains very positive
- The Architectural Billings Index (ABI), a 9-12 month leading indicator for commercial construction, declined further to 48.4 in September 2016, below the 50 (neutral) threshold. However, the reading for contracts and design inquiries remained solid
- Housing permits increased in September 2016 with 8.5% gain from last year to 1.2M; supported by increases in both Multi-Family (+16.8%) and Single Family (4.4%) permits from last year
- Housing starts decreased in September 2016 by 11.9%, down to 1M. Single Family starts increased (+5.4%) while Multi-Family starts decreased (-40.8%) from last year
- 593K new Single Family houses were sold in September 2016, 29.8% above the September 2015 estimate
- The advance (first) estimate for GDP growth in Q3 2016 was 2.9%, well above the 1.4% growth in the second quarter
- CPI-U which indicates inflation, made further gains in September 2016 by 0.3%, after a 0.2% gain in August
