MarketWatch (October 19)
“More home builders are cutting prices on new houses even as their construction costs increase, as buyers flee the housing market.” Excluding the pandemic, “buyer traffic to newly built homes” slumped to the lowest levels since 2012. “The average price cut was 6% for the seventh month in a row, and 65% of builders were also using incentives to boost sales.”
Tags: 2012, Boost, Buyers, Construction costs, Home builders, Housing market, Incentives, Newly built homes, Pandemic, Prices, Sales
LA Times (February 21)
“The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down the majority of tariffs imposed by President Trump could provide some relief to L.A.’s trade-reliant economy — but only if they are not reimposed again through other means.” The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach form the largest ports complex in North America. “The tariffs dealt a blow to a large swath of businesses in Southern California and across the state, including farmers, automakers, home builders, tech companies and apparel retailers.”
Tags: Apparel, Automakers, Decision, Economy, Farmers, Home builders, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Majority, Ports, Relief, Strike down, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Tech, Trade, Trump
MarketWatch (February 18)
In the U.S., “home-builder confidence plunged to the lowest level in five months as concerns over tariffs and how they could raise the cost of housing weighed on the industry.” According to the National Association of Home Builders, its “monthly confidence index fell five points to 42 in February…. a significant change in sentiment among home builders” who are increasingly being spooked by Trump’s tariffs and rising material costs. “For buyers, the sentiment shift only adds to the likelihood that home prices could go up in an already expensive housing market.”
Tags: Buyers, Confidence, Confidence index, Home builders, Housing market, Material costs, Plunged, Sentiment, Spooked, Tariffs, Trump, U.S.
