Share Of Women In Construction At An All Time High

Two US Census Bureau researchers have determined that the biggest determinants of household wealth are  owning a home and having a retirement account .  While that may not be surprising, the degrees of magnitude are. Using data from the 2015 Survey of Income and Program Participation, Jonathan Eggleston, an economist, and Donald Hays, a survey statistician in the Bureau's Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division found that the wealth inequality between homeowners and renters is striking, with the former having median  net worth 80 times that of the latter.   Further, they found wide variations in wealth across demographic and socioeconomic groups.  Given that the two are using 2015 data and with the rapid increase in home values since then, the degree of inequality today is probably greater. The authors say net worth is an important indicator of economic well-being that provides insights into a household's economic health.  For example, during ...

More than half of the people currently searching for a home say they will put their search on hold until they see recovery in the economy, according to  realtor.com . An increasing number of homebuyers expect a recession in the next three years, yet remain optimistic that it will be weaker than the Great Recession. "Economic activity is cyclical, so yes, undoubtedly we will face another recession at some point in the future, but we do not expect it to be anything like 2008," said George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com.  More than 36% of the 755 active buyers surveyed said they expect the next recession to begin in 2020. In March, less than 30% of the 1,015 surveyed said they expected a recession in 2020.  However, 17% of current home shoppers expect a recession to hit this year, while 14% said they think it will hit in 2021, 7% said sometime in 2022 and 8% expect it to happen in 2024. Just 17% reported they don’t know when a recession would happen. "T...

As more older homeowners are  indicating  that they plan to age in place, the lack of available homes for purchase will continue to impact younger prospective homebuyers.  In fact, a ccording to new data from the  National Association of Homebuilders , only 20% of prospective homebuyers expect the search for a home to ease up in the coming months. In the same time period last year (2nd quarter of 2018), 21% thought the same thing, meaning the perceived lack of inventory has not improved in the last year.  Generationally, only 10% of seniors think the search for a home will get easier. Meanwhile, only 20% of Millennials, 21% of Baby Boomers and 21% of Gen Xers think the search will get easier in the next few months.  Regionally, 17% of prospective homebuyers in the Midwest think buying a house will be easier, compared to 19% in the Northeast, 21% in the West and 22% in the South.  The availability and affordability of home...

A recession is coming. The only question is when. The current expansion, which turned  10 years  old last month, is already twice as long as the average U.S. economic growth period, according to the  National Bureau of Economic Research .  About 2% of economists, strategists, academics, and policymakers believe a recession will start this year,  realtor.com  said, based on a survey of more than 200 members of  NBER . Meanwhile, nearly 40% believe one will begin in 2020, while 25% anticipate one starting in 2021. Fourteen percent expect it won't materialize until after 2021. Economists typically define a recession as a contraction in gross domestic product for at least two consecutive quarters. “Although the R-word may be a trigger for those who remember—or even experienced—the mass layoffs, scores of foreclosures, and plummeting home prices of the last downtown, folks shouldn't panic just yet,” the realtor.com article said. “And they s...

According to  U.S. & World Report News , there are plenty of  reasons  to invest in smart home upgrades to use now, or increase the value of the home when it is up for sale. Subbing permanent features with technology is the biggest key factor in making a big profit off of a smart home.  Realtor.com  listed smart technology, energy-efficient appliances, USB outlets and garage outlets as items that attract the  Millennial  buyer, the biggest buying generation.  "Appliances such as smart thermostats, smart doorbells, and more that can be controlled from an app are all the rage," said Kerron Stokes, a real estate agent with  Re/Max Leaders  in Colorado said to Realtor.com. "Connectivity is king when putting a house on the market these days." Since the introduction of the smart doorbell, smart devices have been coming out of the woodwork and into the home.  Home Depot  even has a “smart home” section on thei...

Increasing anxieties over a recession could be the cause of the next recession, according to  Analyticom  President Dan Geller, developer of the theory of money anxiety. Geller’s theory explains that an increase in money anxiety can lower consumer confidence and cause a recession by reducing consumer consumption by just 5%. Since consumer consumption makes up about 70% of gross domestic product, a 5% reduction in spending equals 3.5% of GDP, which is greater than the projected GDP for 2019. In July 2019, the Money Anxiety Index was flat at 44, the same as June, but slightly higher than May’s 42.7 points. While these figures are relatively low and don’t point to an immediate recession, Geller explained that the constant hype about a recession could increase the level of money anxiety. “An example of how recession hype can increase peoples' perceived anxiety and reduce their confidence in the economy can be seen in the preliminary August figures of the Michigan Survey o...

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 66 in August, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Sentiment levels have held at a solid 64-to-66 level for the past four months. “Even as builders report a firm demand for single-family homes, they continue to struggle with rising construction costs stemming from excessive regulations, a chronic shortage of workers and a lack of buildable lots,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde. “While 30-year mortgage rates have dropped from 4.1% down to 3.6% during the past four months, we have not seen an equivalent higher pace of building activity because the rate declines occurred due to economic uncertainty stemming largely from growing trade concerns,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Although affordability headwinds remain a challenge, demand is good and growing at lower price points and for smaller homes.” Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB ha...